^MANUAL 


OF 


SOUTHERN  METHODISM 

INCLUDING 

CHURCH  HISTORY,  DOCTRINE 
POLITY,  A^D  MISSIONS 

n^ 

EDITED  BY  DR.  H!  M.  HAMILL 


ADVANCED   CIRCLE   COURSE 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.  ;  DALLAS,  TEX.  ;  RICHMOND,  VA. 

PUBLISHING  HOUSE  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

SMITH  &  LAMAR,  AGENT? 

1913 


COPYRIGHTED  BY 

SMITH  &  LAMAR,  AQENTS, 

1909. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THIS  book  is  part  of  the  "Advanced  Circle 
Course"  for  the  training  of  Sunday  school 
workers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South.  It  is  based  largely  upon  the  earlier 
book  of  the  Circle  Course  entitled  "Doctrines 
and  Polity  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,"  as 
written  by  Drs.  Tillett  and  Atkins  for  the 
Teacher-Training  Department  when  organ- 
ized in  1901.  In  accordance  with  the  interna- 
tional teacher-training  standards  adopted  by 
our  own  and  other  denominations  in  1908, 
the  book  is  now  enlarged  and  revised.  In  ad- 
dition to  most  of  the  matter  contributed  by 
Drs.  Tillett  and  Atkins,  sections  upon  Church 
History  and  Missions  have  been  introduced, 
and  the  book  in  its  present  form  consists  of 
four  instead  of  two  sections,  as  follows: 
Church  History,  by  Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill;  Our 
Methodist  Doctrines,  by  Dr.  W.  F.  Tillett; 
Our  Methodist  Polity,  by  Dr.  (now  Bishop) 
James  Atkins ;  Church  Missions,  by  Dr.  E.  F. 
Cook. 

As  a  condensed  handbook  the  little  book, 
in  addition  to  its  use  in  teacher-training,  de- 
serves a  place  in  the  home  of  every  Southern 
Methodist  preacher  and  layman. 

(3) 


CONTENTS. 

SECTION  ONE. 
CHURCH  HISTORY. 

PAGE. 

I.  The  Ancient  Church 9 

II.  Protestantism 23 

III.  Methodism 37 

IV.  Southern  Methodism  .  49 


SECTION  TWO. 

DOCTRINE. 

V.  Distinguishing  Features 67 

VI.  The  Holy  Scriptures 76 

VII.  The  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man 87 

VIII.  The  Doctrines  Pertaining  to  Personal 

Salvation 97 

IX.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church. .  110 


SECTION  THREE. 

POLITY. 

X.  The  General  Rules 121 

XI.  The  Conferences  of  Methodism 146 

XII.  The  Itinerancy 155 

XIII.  Our  Connectionalism 166 

(5) 


MANUAL   OF    METHODISM. 

SECTION  FOUR. 


MISSIONS. 

XIV    The  Bible  a  Missionary  Book 179 

XV'  The  Modern  Missionary  Awakening. ..  190 

XVI    World-Wide  Missions— A  Brief  Survey.  200 

XVII    Missions  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South..  214 

XVIII    Missions  in  the  Sunday  School 239 


SECTION  ONE. 


CHURCH  HISTORY, 

AS   RELATED  TO  THE 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH. 


BY  DR.  H.  M.  HAMILL, 

Superintendent  of  Training  Work. 

(7) 


INTERNATIONAL    TEACHER-TRAINING 
STANDARDS. 

As  ADOPTED  IN  1908  BY  THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES. 


FIRST  (OR  ELEMENTARY)   STANDARD  COURSE. 

1.  Not  less  than  fifty  study  periods. 

2.  Not  less  than  one  school  year  of  forty  weeks  for 

completing  the  course. 

3.  A  minimum  of  twenty  study  periods  on  the  Bi- 

ble, and  a  minimum  of  seven  study  periods 
each  on  the  School,  the  Teacher,  and  the 
Pupil. 

4.  Written  examination  and  passing  grade  of  not 

less  than  seventy  per  cent. 

5.  Award    of    Church    Diploma    and    International 

Seal. 

ADVANCED  STANDARD  COURSE. 

1.  Not  less  than  one  hundred  study  periods  and  not 

less  than  two  school  years  of  study. 

2.  A  minimum  of  forty  study  periods  on  the  Bible, 

and  of  ten  each  on  the  School,  the  Teacher, 
the  Pupil,  Church  History,  and  Missions. 

3.  Written  examination  on  completion  of  each  sub- 

ject or  section,  and  passing  grade  of  seventy 
per  cent. 

4.  Award  of  Advanced  Church  Diploma  and  Inter- 

national Seal. 

(8) 


I. 
THE  AXCIEXT  CHURCH. 

B.C.  4-A.D.  1517. 

Under  five  divisions,  in  order,  the  story  of 
the  Ancient  Church  will  be  summarized : 

1.  Organization,  B.C.  4-A.D.  100.  From 
the  birth  of  Christ  to  the  death  of  John,  the 
last  of  the  apostles. 

The  ancient  world  in  Christ's  time  was 
centered  about  the  "Great"  or  Mediterranean 
Sea,  his  native  Palestine  occupying  the  stra- 
tegic junction  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe. 
Through  this  small  country  poured  much  of 
the  commerce  of  the  ancient  world,  and  into 
it  came  the  leaders  of  many  nations.  At 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  advent  certain  con- 
ditions met  in  singular  conjunction  and 
aided  in  the  organization  of  his  kingdom  and 
Church.  In  all  lands,  as  in  Palestine,  Home 
held  the  nations  in  subjection,  and  her  gov- 
ernors, garrisons,  post  roads,  and  especially 
her  laws,  were  everywhere  in  evidence.  The 
Greek  language,  too,  was  universally  the 
medium  of  educated  intercourse,  and  the 
Greek  "Septuagint"  version  of  the  Old  Testa- 

(9) 


10  CHUBCH   HISTORY. 

inent  and  the  Greek  Gospels  and  Epistles  of 
the  New  Testament  were  accessible  even  to 
the  common  people.  In  nearly  all  cities  and 
towns  the  Jewish  synagogue,  with  its  rolls 
of  Jewish  Scriptures  and  its  worship  of  the 
one  true  God,  furnished  a  place  for  preach- 
ing and  teaching.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that 
among  all  nations  at  this  time,  especially  the 
Jews,  in  response  doubtless  to  the  Hebrew 
prophecies  and  the  brooding  Spirit  of  God, 
there  was  a  profound  expectation  of  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Messiah. 

Christ's  ministry,  when  he  came,  was  to 
the  perverted  Jewish  sense  a  mockery  of  their 
hope  and  ambition.  Four  brief  years  were 
devoted  to  healing  diseases  and  working  mira- 
cles, to  teaching  the  multitudes,  to  clashings 
with  Jewish  hierarchy,  to  training  the 
Twelve  as  his  successors  and  as  missionaries 
and  evangelists  among  all  nations;  ending 
in  his  thirty-fourth  year  in  the  death  of  a 
malefactor  upon  the  Koman  cross,  followed 
by  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  Then 
came  the  descent  of  the  promised  Holy  Spir- 
it upon  the  newly  born  "mother  Church"  at 
Jerusalem,  again  at  Samaria,  at  Caesarea,  and 
at  Antioch;  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles; 
the  three  missionary  tours  of  Paul ;  the  writ- 


THE   ANCIENT  CHURCH.  1 

ing  of  the  New  Testament  by  eight  inspired 
men ;  the  martyrdom,  according  to  tradition, 
of  all  the  apostles  save  John ;  the  beginnings 
of  dire  persecution  at  home  and  in  foreign 
countries,  closing  this  first  century  of  or- 
ganization with  the  banishment  and  death 
of  John,  last  of  the  apostles  and  successor  to 
Paul,  about  the  year  A.D.  100. 

2.  Extension,  A.D.  100-313.  From  the 
death  of  John  to  the  Decree  of  Toleration  by 
Constantine,  the  Roman  Emperor. 

After  the  Apostolic  Age,  which  closed  with 
John's  death,  came  what  are  called  the  "Sub- 
Apostolic"  and  "Patristic,"  which  include 
the  first  four  centuries  of  Christianity.  Jeru- 
salem had  fallen,  but  the  "Holy  Land"  con- 
tinued to  be  a  center  of  Christian  interest 
and  influence.  Antioch  in  Syria  became  the 
great  missionary  and  Gentile  city,  where 
believers  were  first  called  "Christians." 
Ephesus  was  the  seat  of  Christian  influence  in 
Asia  Minor,  Alexandria  was  the  great  Chris- 
tian city  of  Africa,  and  Rome  a£  the  im- 
perial city  and  prison  home  of  Paul,  held 
high  eminence  among  all  Churches.  Other 
Christian  centers  of  note  were  Philippi,  Cor- 
inth, and  Smyrna.  Among  the  greater  lead- 
ers of  the  extending  Church  during  this  period 


J2  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

were  Ignatius,  martyr  at  Rome,  Polycarp, 
martyr  at  Smyrna,  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus, 
Tertullian,  and  Origen,  greatest  of  all  patris- 
tic writers  and  apologists  of  the  early  Church. 
Leadership,  in  most  cases,  was  the  inevitable 
credential  to  martyrdom.  Twelve  imperial 
persecutions  occurred  during  the  first  three 
centuries  A.D.,  chief  of  which  in  extent  and 
severity  were  those  under  the  Emperors 
Nero,  A.D.  64-68;  Domitian,  95-96;  Trajan, 
104-117;  Marcus  Aurelius,  161-180;  Decius, 
250-253;  and  last  and  worst  Diocletian,  SOS- 
SIS.  As  in  all  ages  and  lands,  the  Church 
grew  and  strengthened  most  wrhen  its  foot- 
prints were  marked  with  its  holiest  blood. 

It  was  during  these  centuries,  beginning  in 
the  second,  that  the  New  Testament  canon 
as  it  now  stands  was  finally  determined.  For 
a  time  certain  books,  as  2  Peter,  James,  2  and 
3  John,  Jude,  were  accounted  as  "disputan- 
ta,"  or  doubtful.  Translations  into  the  Syriac, 
Latin,  Coptic,  and  Ethiopic  were  made.  Her- 
esies began  to  appear;  and  as  the  centuries 
passed  and  the  Church  became  corrupted, 
their  number  increased  greatly.  The  one 
overshadowing  heresy  of  the  earlier  Chris- 
tian Church  was  known  as  "Gnosticism.'' 
John,  before  his  death  and  in  at  least  two  of 


THE    ANCIENT   CHURCH.  13 

his  books,  found  it  necessary  to  condemn  it 
sharply,  and  after  his  death  it  spread  widely 
and  perilously  throughout  the  Church  as  a 
most  plausible  and  dangerous  doctrine.  It 
was  a  mixture  of  Oriental  and  Platonic  phi- 
losophy with  Judaism  and  some  Christian 
elements,  denying  that  Christ  was  truly  di- 
vine, but  an  emanation  only  of  deity.  It 
taught  that  matter  was  evil  and  that  sin  was 
in  matter,  not  in  spirit,  which  led  to  asceti- 
cism or  bodily  self-punishment  on  the  one 
part,  and  on  the  other  to  bodily  indulgence  of 
the  grossest  and  vilest  forms. 

3.  Controversy,  A.D.  313-590.  From  the 
Edict  of  Constantine  to  the  accession  of 
Pope  Gregory  I.,  the  first  recognized  uPope." 

Persecution  ended  for  a  long  season  upon 
the  coming  to  the  throne  of  Constantine  the 
Great  as  Koman  Emperor,  A.D.  306-337.  At 
first  ruler  of  the  so-called  Eastern  Empire, 
he  overthrew  the  Emperor  Licinius  in  the 
Western  Empire,  and  in  A.D.  313  published 
throughout  the  world  his  famous  edict  of  full 
toleration  of  Christianity.  The  motive  to  his 
great  deed  is  accredited  to  his  Christian 
mother,  Helena.  In  A.D.  325  the  Emperor 
convened  the  first  general  council  of  the 
Church  at  Nice,  its  chief  purpose  being  to 


14  CHUBCH    HISTORY. 

settle  the  controversy  over  the  Arian  heresy, 
which  widely  prevailed  and  which  taught 
that  Christ  was  created  and  was  not  of  the 
same  substance  with  the  Father.  The  coun- 
cil condemned  the  heresy  and  cast  out  its  au- 
thor and  chief  propagators. 

In  A.T.).  465  began  the  series  of  barbaric 
invasions  of  Rome  and  the  Empire,  led  by 
Vandals  and  Moors.  At  this  time  the  bishop 
of  Kome  for  the  first  time  began  to  assume 
the  title  of  "Papa"  or  Pope,  though  until 
Gregory  I.  the  title  was  vigorously  resisted. 
To  this  period  also  belongs  the  founding  of 
the  earlier  missions  of  the  Church,  notably  in 
Abyssinia  by  ^Edesius,  among  the  Goths  by 
Ulfilas,  in  Ireland  by  St.  Patrick,  in  Scotland 
by  Columba,  and  in  Britain  by  unknown  mis- 
sionaries. Successive  councils  decreed  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy,  and  the  consequent 
viciousness  of  this  class  soon  began  to  ap- 
pear. It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that  the 
Church  began  the  canonization  and  worship 
of  its  martyrs  and  saints,  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
and  of  images.  The  Church  for  centuries 
was  vexed  with  controversies  upon  all  pos- 
sible ecclesiastical  and  Scriptural  matters. 
Councils  were  convened  to  adjust  them  at 
Constantinople  A.D.  381,  at  Ephesus  431,  at 


THE   ANCIENT   CHURCH.  15 

Chalcedon  451,  and  again  at  Constantinople 
553 — all  for  the  purpose  of  silencing  the 
warring  factions  and  giving  official  condem- 
nation or  commendation  to  the  doctrines  in 
question,  most  of  which  had  to  do  with  the 
nature  of  Jesus  Christ.  Among  the  great 
leaders  in  these  famous  and  often  bitter  con- 
troversies were  Origen  of  Alexandria,  A.D. 
185-254;  Dionysius,  of  the  same  city  and 
time;  Arius,  who  died  336;  Chrysostom,  347- 
407 ;  Pelagius,  370-440 ;  and  foremost  of  them 
all,  Augustine,  354-430. 

4.  The  Dark  Ages,  A.D.  590-1270.  From 
the  accession  of  Pope  Gregory  I.  to  the  close 
of  the  Crusades. 

The  Middle  or  "Dark  Ages"  as  they  are 
called,  lie  between  the  ruin  of  the  Roman 
Empire  and  the  revival  of  learning  and  re- 
ligion in  Europe  known  commonly  as  "Prot- 
estantism." The  Roman  Empire,  for  centu- 
ries the  noblest  patron  of  law  and  learning 
and  of  civilization  generally,  began  to  break 
to  pieces  A.D.  476  under  the  fierce  irruption 
of  northern  barbarians.  As  the  power  of  the 
State  decreased  the  power  of  the  Church 
increased,  though  not  in  spiritual  ways. 
Gregory  I.,  the  first  to  be  formally  acknowl- 
edged as  universal  bishop  or  "Pope,"  was  a. 


J6  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

fitting  illustration  of  the  growing  rapacity 
and  insolence  and  wanton  abuse  of  power 
both  spiritually  and  secularly  on  the  part 
of  the  Komish  prelates.  As  one  writing  of 
this  age  says:  ''Faith  became  credulity;  the 
spirit  of  reverence  was  changed  to  cringing 
servility;  the  light  held  out  by  the  Church, 
though  not  extinguished,  was  largely  ob- 
scured." Monasticism  began  to  flourish. 
Those  who  ought  to  have  been  the  preachers 
and  teachers  of  the  unsaved  masses  shut 
themselves  within  monasteries  and  convents 
in  selfish  and  luxurious,  often  in  vicious,  in- 
dulgence. Begging  monks  were  encouraged, 
and  at  one  time  there  were  twenty-three  rec- 
ognized monastic  orders,  among  whom  were 
the  Benedictine,  the  Carmelite,  the  Domin- 
ican, the  Franciscan,  and  later  the  Jesuits. 
Beginning  in  asceticism  and  in  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  these  orders  commonly  grew 
wealthy,  corrupt,  and  insolent,  and  their 
spacious  endowed  monasteries  were  centers 
of  profligacy  and  of  persecution.  Yet  to 
them  it  is  just  to  say  that  we  owe  not  a  lit- 
tle of  the  literature  and  scholarship  that  sur- 
vived the  Dark  Ages.  Of  all  the  centuries 
of  this  darkness  the  tenth  was  the  worst, 
to  which  belonged  Pope  John  XII.,  who  was 


THE   ANCIENT   CHURCH.  17 

guilty  of  almost  every  conceivable  crime. 
After  him  a  few  years  later  came  Pope 
Benedict  IX.,  who  "committed  murder  and 
adultery  openly,"  and  "robbed  the  pilgrims 
at  the  graves  of  the  martyrs  and  turned 
Kome  into  a  den  of  thieves." 

Mohammed  and  his  successors,  with  sword 
and  crescent,  for  nearly  two  centuries 
broke  in  upon  the  darkness  and  corruption 
of  Europe.  Mohammed  was  born  A. I).  570, 
and  at  the  age  of  forty  assumed  the  role  of 
prophet  of  God,  greater  than  Christ.  Fleeing 
from  enemies  to  Medina  A.D.  622,  his 
brief  and  wonderful  career  began.  Dur- 
ing the  seventh  century  his  armies  swept 
over  Western  Asia  and  Europe  like  a  flame. 
Mohammed  died  in  A.D.  632,  but  his  "ca- 
liphs" took  possession  of  Persia  and  Asia 
Minor,  attacking  Constantinople;  then  con- 
quered North  Africa,  and  crossing  into  Spain, 
founded  the  Moorish  Kingdom,  scaled  the 
Pyrenees,  threatened  Gaul,  and  finally,  at 
Tours,  A.D.  732,  were  hopelessly  shattered 
by  the '  "Hammer  of  God,"  Charles  Martel. 
Mohammedanism  was  built  in  a  sense 
upon  the  Scriptures  and  recognized  the  one 
God  and  Jesus  Christ,  but  maintained  the 
"Koran"  as  its  Bible  to  be  God's  latest  reve- 
2 


18  CHURCH   HISTOEY. 

lation  and  Mohammed  his  last  and  greatest 
prophet. 

After  Mohammedanism,  as  the  next  great 
event  of  the  Dark  Ages,  were  the  "Crusades," 
seven  in  number,  into  the  East  for  the  recov- 
ery of  the  Holy  Land  and  Holy  City,  espe- 
cially of  the  Holy  Sepulcher,  where  Christ 
was  said  to  have  been  entombed.  During  the 
seventh  century  these  had  become  the  prey 
of  the  conquering  Mohammedans.  The  Cru- 
sades were  at  first  organized  by  Walter  the 
Penniless  and  Peter  the  Hermit,  who  led  the 
First  Crusade,  which  later,  under  Godfrey 
de  Bouillon,  resulted  in  the  recovery  of  Jeru- 
salem, A.D.  1099.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  led 
the  Second  Crusade  in  A.D.  1147.  In  A.D. 
1187,  after  Saladin,  King  of  the  Saracens, 
had  retaken  Jerusalem  from  the  Crusaders, 
a  Third  Crusade  was  led  by  Kichard  Coeur 
de  Lion  and  others.  There  followed  the 
Fourth  in  A.D.  1204,  the  Fifth  in  1229,  the 
Sixth  in  1248,  and  finally  the  Seventh  in 
1270.  In  the  main  they  failed  of  their  pur- 
pose, yet  they  brought  together  into  a  bet- 
ter fellowship  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
gathered  from  the  East  the  best  of  its  learn- 
ing and  spirit,  and  in  general  broke  the  long 
stagnation  of  the  Dark  Ages. 


THE  ANCIENT   CHURCH.  J9 

5.  The  Awakening,  A.D.  1270-1517.  From 
the  Crusades  to  the  German  Reformation. 

The  Crusades,  despite  the  loss  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  lives  and  vast  treasures  of 
money,  were  a  decided  step  toward  religious 
progress  and  purity.  Yet  stronger  than  the 
Crusades  as  an  instrument  in  arousing  the 
Church  was  its  dire  corruption  and  the 
wickedness  and  cruelty  of  its  leaders.  In 
Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  especially  in 
Spain,  the  Romish  Church  had  set  up  the 
"Inquisition,"  the  most  brutal  of  all  agen- 
cies erected  in  the  holy  name  of  Christ,  and 
incomparably  be3'ond  the  barbarities  of  pa- 
gan persecutors.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
the  conscience  of  the  Church  was  further 
aroused  by  Pope  Leo  X.,  who,  through  Tetzel 
and  others,  sought  to  raise  money  by  sale  of 
papal  "indulgences"  for  all  manner  of  sins. 
Another  sign  of  awakening  was  the  uprising 
here  and  there  of  communities  and  individ- 
uals in  protest  against  papal  degeneracy  and 
aggressiveness.  Among  these  communities 
were  the  "Albigenses"  of  France,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century ;  the  Waldenses,  who  began  at 
Lyons,  1179.  Of  individuals  were  John 
Wyclif  of  England,  1320-84,  translator  into 
English  of  the  Scriptures,  and  William  Tyn- 


20  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

dale  a  century  later,  with  John  Huss,  1369- 
1415,  and  greatest  and  boldest,  Savonarola 
of  Italy,  1452-98 — all  of  whom  became  mar- 
tyrs to  Christian  courage  and  loyalty.  Along 
with  these  pioneers  of  religious  reform  was 
a  noble  line  of  intellectual  reformers,  like 
Abelard  and  Bernard,  Aquinas  and  Duns 
Scotus,  and  Bacon,  chiefly  of  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries.  The  three  great 
universities  of  Bologna,  Paris,  and  Oxford 
also  aided  greatly  in  relighting  the  fallen 
torches  of  learning  and  religion,  and  it  was 
said  of  them  that  their  "Greek  learning  had 
risen  from  the  grave  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  its  hand."  That  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  nations  were  being  aroused  was 
further  shown  in  the  discovery  of  a  new  con- 
tinent by  Columbus,  1492,  and  by  the  inven- 
tions that  Providence  gave  through  chosen 
men  to  aid  in  reforms.  One  has  truly  said 
of  certain  great  discoveries  of  this  age  of 
awakening,  that  "gunpowder  made  liberty 
possible,  while  the  printing  press  made  it  a 
fact." 


THK    ANCIENT    CHURCH.  21 

THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH. 

Summary  of  Chief  Events. 

[After    learning    what    these    names    and    dates 
stand  for,  commit  them  thoroughly  to  memory.] 

4  B.C.— Birth  of  Christ. 

27  A.D.— Baptism  of  Christ. 

30  A.D. — Crucifixion ;  Kesurrection. 

37  A.D. — Martyrdom  of  Stephen. 

38  A.D. — Conversion  of  Paul. 

48-58  A.D. — Paul's  three  Missionary  Tours. 
58-62  A.D. — Paul  prisoner. 
66-68  A.D. — Paul's  Martyrdom  at  Home. 
70  A.D. — Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
100  A.D.— John's  death  at  Ephesus. 
165-167     A.D. — Martyrdom     of     Ignatius, 
Justin  Martyr,  and  Polycarp. 
313  A.D.— Edict  of  Toleration. 
410-465  A.D. — Rome  assailed  by  Goths. 
530  A.D. — Clerical  celibacy  commanded. 
590  A.D. — Gregory  I.  with  title  of  "Pope." 
570  A.D. — Mohammed  born. 
732  A.D. — Mohammedanism  shattered. 
766-814  A.D.— Reign  of  Charlemagne. 
871-901  A.D.— Reign  of  Alfred  the  Great. 
1073-85  A.D.— Pope  Gregory  VII. 
1096-1270  A.D.— The  Seven  Crusades. 
1129  A.D. — Inquisition  begun. 


22  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

1320-84  A.D.— Wyclif,  the  reformer. 
1369-1415  A.D. — John  Huss,  reformer. 
1452-98  A.D. — Savonarola,  reformer. 
1453  A.D. — Constantinople  taken. 
1492  A.D. — Discovery  of  America. 


tt 

PBOTESTANTISM. 

A.D.  1B17-1739. 

THE  word  "Protestantism"  stands  for  that 
great  providential  movement  that  broke  the 
evil  domination  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
.Church,  reformed  its  worst  abuses,  set  in 
motion  the  influences  that  have  largely 
stripped  it  of  secular  authority,  curtailed 
the  power  of  popes  and  bishops,  and  finally, 
and  we  trust  forever,  abolished  such  ec- 
clesiastical institutions  as  the  Inquisition 
and  "auto  da  feV'  This  much  upon  the  neg- 
ative side.  As  a  positive  force  Protestant- 
ism restored  religious  liberty  and  freedom 
of  conscience  to  worship  God  after  one's  own 
convictions  and  to  be  protected  therein  by 
the  State.  Largely  too  it  has  purified  the 
Church  by  separating  it  from  all  unholy  al- 
liances with  the  State,  and  by  giving  the 
Bible  to  the  people  in  their  own  language. 
It  has  restored  to  scriptural  orthodoxy  and 
purity  certain  great  doctrines  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Church,  as  that  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  inspiration  of 
the  Bible,  the  right  of  the  individual  in  mat- 

(23) 


24  CHURCH   HISTOKY. 

ters  of  faith.  If  not  in  mere  increase  of  num- 
bers, }ret  in  the  uplifting  of  the  race  and 
amelioration  of  its  suffering,  in  the  en- 
lightenment of  the  ignorant  and  the  main- 
tenance of  pure  morals,  in  the  extension  of 
righteousness  both  in  the  nation  and  the  in- 
dividual, in  great  intellectual  as  well  as 
spiritual  quickenings  throughout  the  world, 
Protestantism,  though  only  four  centuries 
old,  has  gone  incomparably  beyond  the  best 
that  the  Catholic  Church  has  achieved  in  fif- 
teen centuries,  and  this  without  pandering 
to  the  vices  and  ambitions  of  worldly  leaders 
or  invoking  the  authority  of  secular  kings 
and  princes. 

Protestantism  formally  begins  with  the  life 
and  ministry  of  Martin  Luther.  For  con- 
venience of  study  it  will  be  presented  in  five 
periods : 

1.  The  German  Reformation,  A.D.  1483- 
1546-  From  the  birth  to  the  death  of  Lu- 
ther. 

While  other  factors  already  named  in  the 
preceding  chapter  entered  into  the  German 
Keformation,  it  was  under  God  the  master- 
ful monk,  Luther,  who  largely  brought  the 
Reformation  to  success.  All  agencies  with- 
out him  would  probably  have  come  to 


PROTESTANTISM.  25 

naught;  with  him  they  became  mighty 
weapons  offensive  and  defensive.  Luther 
was  born  at  Eisleben  A.D.  1483,  and  died 
1546.  He  came  from  a  humble  home,  and 
was  destined  by  his  parents  for  another  vo- 
cation than  the  priesthood. ,  Yet  after  his 
college  life  had  ended  he  was  so  impressed 
by  the  sudden  death  of  a  friend  that  he  en- 
tered a  monastery,  was  ordained  priest  in 
1507,  and  assigned  to  a  professorship  in  the 
University  of  Wittenberg.  In  1517  he  issued 
his  famous  Ninety-Five  Theses  or  proposi- 
tions against  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  for- 
giveness of  sin  and  its  sale  of  indulgences 
through  Tetzel  and  others.  He  was  excom- 
municated by  Pope  Leo  X.  in  1520,  and  was 
summoned  before  the  Diet  of  Worms  in  1521 
for  trial,  but  refused  to  recede  or  recant. 
He  published  to  Germany  three  strong  ad- 
dresses entitled  "An  Address  to  the  German 
Nobility,"  the  "Babylonian  Captivity  of  the 
Church,"  and  "Christian  Freedom,"  urging 
in  these  an  independence  of  papal  rule,  de- 
nying all  sacraments  save  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  demanding  spiritual  lib- 
erty for  all  persons.  He  was  greatly  aided  by 
the  learning  of  Melanchthon,  by  the  friend- 
ship and  help  of  Frederick  of  Saxony,  by 


2(>  CHUBCH   HISTORY. 

the  Swiss  Keformer  Zwingli  (1484-1530), 
by  John  Calvin,  the  Genevan  Reformer  ( 1509- 
64),  and  by  the  famous  Erasmus.  The  final 
seal  of  success  was  put  upon  the  efforts  of 
Luther  and  these  helpers  by  the  "Peace  of 
Augsburg"  in  1555,  which  allowed  thence- 
forth a  conditional  choice  between  Roman- 
ism and  Protestantism  and  equal  protection 
to  both. 

The  Reformation  passed  quickly  from  Ger- 
many into  Denmark  under  Christian  III. ; 
thence  into  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  to  a 
limited  extent  into  France  under  Francis 
I.  The  city  of  Geneva  in  Switzerland  be- 
came a  new  center  of  Protestantism  under 
John  Calvin,  who  was  born  in  France,  was 
famous  as  a  student  at  the  University  of 
Orleans,  took  part  in  the  opposition  to  the 
papacy,  wrote  with  great  force  his  "Insti- 
tutes of  the  Christian  Religion,"  became  aft- 
er Luther  the  head  of  the  Reformation,  and 
was  author  and  apologist  of  the  widespread 
and  long-dominant  system  of  theology  known 
as  "Calvinism." 

2.  The  English  Reformation,  A.D.  1546- 
1660.  From  the  death  of  Luther  to  the 
death  of  Cromwell  and  end  of  the  Common- 
wealth in  England. 


PROTESTANTISM.  27 

The  so-called  English  Keforraation  was 
simply  an  offshoot  from  that  of  Germany. 
Protestantism  passed,  somewhat  in  devious 
ways,  into  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  by 
indirection  soon  reached  England  and  Scot- 
land. Henry  VIII.  of  England,  crafty, 
lecherous,  and  treacherous,  at  first  sought  to 
engage  Luther  in  controversy,  for  which  he 
was  dubbed  by  the  pope  "defender  of  the 
faith."  But  partly  because  of  a  growing  in- 
dependency of  England  against  the  Conti- 
nent, and  particularly  because  of  his  rup- 
ture with  the  pope  over  his  refusal  to  divorce 
Henry's  wife,  Catherine  of  Aragon,  the  King 
in  1532  issued  his  declaration  of  independ- 
ence of  papal  authority,  and  his  Parliament 
in  1534  passed  in  confirmation  the  "Act  of 
Supremacy,"  which  declared  the  king  and 
not  the  pope  to  be  the  supreme  head  of  the 
English  Church.  King  Edward  VI.  (1547- 
53),  successor  to  Henry,  was  an  out-and-out 
Protestant,  and  had  as  his  counselors  such 
wise,  heroic  advisers  as  Kidley,  Latimer,  and 
Hooper.  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was 
put  forth  in  the  English  language.  After 
Edward's  early  death  came  the  blotch  on  the 
page  of  England's  history,  the  reign  of 
"Bloody  Mary"  (1553-55),  who  restored 


28  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Catholicism,  burned  at  the  stake  Ridley,  Lat- 
imer,  Hooper,  and  Cranmer,  and  very  many 
others.  Elizabeth,  the  "Good  Queen  Bess," 
succeeded  Mary,  and  restored  Protestantism 
during  her  reign  (1558-1603),  and  main- 
tained England  in  the  forefront  of  the  Refor- 
mation for  more  than  forty  years.  The 
"Thirty-Nine  Articles  of  Religion"  of  the 
English  Church,  from  which  our  Methodist 
Articles  are  abridged,  were  put  in  form. 
The  terms  "Independent,"  "Puritan,"  and 
"Nonconformist"  were  applied  to  the  dis- 
senters. Some  of  the  Independents  were 
driven  to  Holland,  and  from  thence  came 
later  to  America.  King  James,  whose  reign 
(1603-25)  followed  Elizabeth's,  played  fast 
and  loose  with  all  parties,  but  took  time  to 
secure  to  the  English-speaking  race  the  first 
great  and  enduring  English  version  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  Bible  most  commonly  in  use 
in  our  time  and  known  as  the  "King  James 
Version."  Cromwell's  strong  leadership 
(1649-60)  made  the  English  "Common- 
wealth" the  chief  supporter  of  Protestantism. 
In  opposition  to  the  widespread  and  ag- 
gressive system  of  theology  proclaimed  by 
John  Calvin  there  was  raised  up  providen- 
tially one  who  gave  to  the  world  a  far  gentler 


PROTESTANTISM.  29 

system,  known  after  his  name  as  "Arminian- 
ism,"  constituting  a  body  of  doctrine  that  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  Methodism,  and  is  fast 
supplanting  the  harsher  features  of  Calvin- 
ism. James  Arminius  (1560-1609)  was  pastor 
in  Amsterdam,  then  professor  at  Leyden,  and 
leader  of  the  "Kemonstrants."  The  "Kemon- 
strance"  exactly  opposed,  point  by  point,  the 
"five  points"  of  Calvin,  and  maintained:  (1) 
Conditional  election;  (2)  unlimited  atone- 
ment; (3)  partial  depravity ;  (4)  resistible 
grace;  (5)  possible  lapse  from  grace. 

3.  The  Counter  Reformation,  A.D.  15^0- 
1648.  From  the  organization  of  the  Jesuits 
to  the  Peace  of  Westphalia. 

The  Catholic  Church,  alarmed  by  the 
swift  spread  of  Protestantism  and  the  defec- 
tion of  so  many  of  its  followers,  set  up  a 
counter-reformation  that  did  much  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  Protestantism  in  all  coun- 
tries. The  method  was  twofold :  to  check  its 
growth  by  any  means,  fair  or  foul,  whatever; 
and  to  institute  missionary  enterprises  for 
the  occupancy  of  such  countries  as  were  yet 
unreached  by  Protestantism.  The  Council 
of  Trent,  which  met  in  1545  and  continued 
several  years  in  session,  was  a  vigorous  effort 
to  drive  Protestantism  from  within  the  Cath- 


30  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

olic  Church.  That  Council  reenacted  many 
of  the  repulsive  features  of  the  Romish 
Church,  and  rekindled  the  bigotry  and  the 
hatred  of  the  Church  for  everything  that 
made  for  the  freedom  of  the  individual  con- 
science. At  this  time  too  arose  the  Order  of 
the  Jesuits,  1540,  with  Ignatius  Loyola  as 
its  famous  or  infamous  head,  the  chief  work- 
ing maxim  of  the  Order  being  expressed  in 
the  words,  "The  end  justifies  the  means," 
which  meant  that  any  command  of  the  deca- 
logue or  any  law  of  the  State  might  be  bro- 
ken if  only  it  be  done  to  advance  the  Cath- 
olic Church  and  the  interests  of  the  Order. 
Not  all  of  the  Order  were  evil-minded  men. 
Francis  Xavier,  for  instance,  who  gave  his 
life  to  missionary  labor  in  India,  China,  and 
Japan,  and  some  of  the  nobler  Jesuits  who 
came  to  North  America  and  sought  to  civi- 
lize and  evangelize  the  Indians  and  hardly 
less  savage  white  settlers,  deserve  lasting 
honor  and  gratitude. 

Along  with  Jesuitism  and  as  a  formidable 
agent  of  the  counter-reformation  was  the  re- 
organization of  the  "Inquisition,"  of  whose 
earlier  cruelties  mention  has  been  made. 
On  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  August  24,  1572, 
in  France,  a  hundred  thousand  Huguenots, 


PROTESTANTISM.  31 

men,  women,  and  children,  were  slain  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night.  Two  years  later,  when 
Henry  IV.  came  to  the  throne,  by  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  religious  liberty  and  protection  was 
thenceforth  promised  to  French  Protestants. 
Finally,  after  the  "Thirty  Years'  War"  (1618- 
48),  which  had  as  its  chief  issue  the  cause 
of  Protestantism,  came  to  an  end  in  the 
"Treaty  of  Westphalia,"  it  brought  equal 
rights  and  liberties  to  Protestants  and  Cath- 
olics. 

•  4.  The  Wesleyan  Movement,  A.D.  16^8- 
1739.  From  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  to  the 
organization  of  the  English  Methodist  Church. 
One  of  the  darkest  pages  of  modern  his- 
tory is  that  which  pictures  England,  France, 
Germany,  and  even  America  toward  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  and  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  centuries,  at  the  time  that  Wesley 
and  his  coadjutors  were  unwittingly  mak- 
ing ready  for  the  greatest  revival  of  religion 
in  the  history  of  Protestantism.  Spiritual 
earnestness  seemed  to  have  gone  from  the 
churches;  morals  were  at  the  lowest  ebb; 
not  one  in  five  hundred  of  the  common 
people  of  England  could  write  his  name: 
drunkenness,  gambling,  and  licentiousness 
were  the  trinity  of  national  and  popular 


32  CHUBCH   HISTORY. 

vices,  even  among  men  of  the  cloth.  Christ's 
name  was  rarely  heard  except  in  blas- 
phemy, and  it  was  deemed  the  mark  of  an 
educated  class  that  it  derided  religion  and 
made  mock  of  the  Bible.  Bishop  Kyle  said 
of  the  age:  "There  was  darkness  in  high 
places  and  darkness  in  low  places;  darkness 
in  the  court,  the  camp,  the  parliament,  the 
bar;  darkness  in  country  and  darkness  in 
town ;  darkness  among  the  rich  and  dark- 
ness among  the  poor — a  gross,  thick,  reli- 
gious and  moral  darkness;  a  darkness  that 
might  be  felt."  Pressense',  writing  especially 
of  France,  his  own  country,  said:  "Nothing 
is  so  sad  as  the  religious  history  of  this  coun- 
try." "In  England  and  Germany  a  parching 
wind  blows  over  hearts  and  minds."  Presi- 
dent Dwight,  of  Yale,  writing  of  America, 
said:  "From  France,  Germany,  and  Great 
Britain  the  dregs  of  infidelity  were  vomited 
upon  us." 

At  such  a  time  as  this  the  hand  of  Divine 
Providence  was  making  ready  through  the 
Wesleyan  reformation  for  a  mighty  religious 
awakening,  an  age  of  spiritual  as  well  as 
intellectual  power  and  progress  not  equaled 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Out  of  the 
depths  had  come  up  before  God  the  cry  of 


p 

PROTESTANTISM.  33 

the  ignorant,  the  hunger  of  the  lost  for  some- 
thing better  than  the  husks  of  infidelity  and 
the  poison  of  sin,  and  God  answered  by  giv- 
ing the  world  the  ministry  of  a  handful  of 
chosen  men.  "There  was  a  man  sent  from 
God  whose  name  was  John" — Wesley!  In 
1730  his  first  "Methodist  Society"  was  organ- 
ized in  London,  and  this  formal  beginning  of 
the  "Wesleyan  Movement"  was  made,  further 
details  of  which  will  be  given  in  succeeding 
chapters. 

5.  American  Protestantism,  A.D.  1607  to 
the  present  time. 

Protestantism  found  a  congenial  home 
and  larger  opportunity  for  growth  in  Amer- 
ica, which  had  from  the  beginning  encour- 
aged the  coming  of  the  oppressed,  whether 
politically  or  religiously,  from  all  lands.  In 
no  nation  have  Catholic  and  Protestant,  Jew 
and  Gentile  dwelt  more  at  peace  or  been  freer 
from  persecution  for  the  sake  of  conscience. 

The  first  distinctly  Protestant  Church  to 
colonize  in  America  was  the  English  Epis- 
copal or  Church  of  England.  The  Cavaliers 
who  came  to  Virginia  were  stanchly  Epis- 
copalian, and  from  1607  to  the  present  time 
that  Church  has  maintained  its  stronghold 
in  the  "Old  Dominion,"  as  an  illustration  of 
3 


34  CHURCH   HISTOBY. 

the  permanency  of  a  church  settlement  in 
contrast  with  a  merely  social  or  political 
settlement.  Its  first  American  General  Con- 
vention was  organized  in  1785.  The  Puri- 
tans and  Pilgrims  (or,  as  now  styled,  the 
Congregationalists),  first  came  to  Plymouth 
Rock  on  the  coast  of  Massachusetts,  and  lat 
er  spread  throughout  New  England,  where 
their  descendants  still  maintain  a  domina- 
ting position  and  influence.  The  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  now  called  "The  Reformed," 
came  to  Manhattan  Island,  the  site  of  New 
York  City,  in  1623.  The  Baptists,  under  the 
leadership  of  Roger  Williams,  settled  in 
Rhode  Island,  where  they  continue  to  occu- 
py the  foremost  place  among  the  Churches. 
The  Lutherans  began  in  New  York  in  1669. 
The  Presbyterians  immigrated  to  America  in 
large  numbers  during  1660-88,  and  in  suc- 
cessive later  migrations  from  the  Old  World. 
The  first  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  was 
held  in  1789.  The  Methodists  came  from 
Great  Britain  to  New  York  and  Maryland 
and  began  organizing  churches  in  the  year 
1766.  The  first  Methodist  Conference  was 
held  in  Philadelphia  in  1773;  and  the  Meth- 
odist Church  of  America  was  formally  organ- 
ized in  1784.  The  first  formal  Catholic  im- 


PROTESTANTISM.  35 

migration  to  America  was  in  1632,  under 
Lord  Baltimore,  to  Maryland;  though  at  oth- 
er points  in  the  South,  notably  Santa  F£,  St. 
Augustine,  and  New  Orleans,  and  along  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  earlier  Catholic  settle- 
ments had  been  begun,  some  of  which  soon 
disappeared. 

SUMMARY  OF  PROTESTANTISM. 

[After  learning  the  facts,  memorize  thoroughly 
the  dates.] 

A.D. 

1483     Birth  of  Martin  Luther. 

1509     Birth  of  John  Calvin. 

1517    Luther's  Theses  against  the  Pope. 

1520     Luther  excommunicated. 

1534     Act  of  Separation. 

1540     Founding  of  Order  of  Jesuits. 

1545     Council  of  Trent. 

1553-58     Bloody  Mary's  reign. 

1571  The  Thirty-Nine  Articles  of  Keligion. 

1572  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
Edict  of  Nantes. 

English  Episcopal  Colony  in  America. 
King  James  Version  of  Scriptures. 
Coming  of  Puritans  to  Massachusetts. 
Dutch  Reformed  settle  New  York. 


36  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

1632  Catholics  come  to  Maryland. 

1639  Baptists  colonize  Khode  Island. 

1648  The  Peace  of  Westphalia. 

1660  Presbyterians  come  to  America. 

1669  Lutherans  settle  in  New  York. 

1739  First  Methodist  Society  organized. 


III. 
METHODISM. 

A.D.  1739-1844. 

1.  The  Wesley  Family,  A.D.  1690-1791. 
From  the  birth  of  the  father  to  the  death  of 
John  Wesley. 

The  ancestry  of  the  Wesley  family  was  dis- 
tinguished in  English  history  for  five  hun- 
dred years.  The  name  can  be  traced  to  Wil- 
liam, first  Baron  of  Wellesley,  in  1343  A.D. 
From  one  branch  came  Arthur  Wellesley, 
Duke  of  Wellington.  The  line  is  noted  for 
the  number  of  its  distinguished  preachers 
and  scholars.  The  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather upon  the  paternal  side,  and  the 
grandfather  on  the  mother's  side  were  sturdy 
Nonconformist  preachers,  who  opposed  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  .  the  English 
Church. 

The  Wesley  family,  from  which  sprang,  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  our  Methodism,  had 
tkeir  home  in  the  village  rectory  of  Epworth, 
Lincoln  County,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  En- 
gland. The  family  numbered  twenty-one — 
the  father  and  mother,  Samuel  and  Susanna 

(37) 


38  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Wesley,  and  nineteen  children,  nine  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  Three  sons  and  seven 
daughters  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
all  of  whom,  except  the  eldest,  were  born  at 
Epworth.  The  three  sons  were  Samuel,  John, 
and  Charles.  Samuel,  the  eldest  child,  was 
born  in  London  in  1690,  and  came  to  distinc- 
tion as  a  man  of  learning,  but  was  overshad- 
owed by  his  younger  brothers.  The  seven 
daughters  who  grew  to  womanhood,  in  order 
of  birth,  were:  Emilia,  Susanna,  Mary,  Me- 
hetabel,  Anne,  Martha,  Kezia.  All  except 
Kezia,  who  died  in  early  womanhood,  mar- 
ried ;  and  all  of  them  inherited  the  talents  of 
their  parents. 

Eev.  Samuel  Wesley,  A.M.,  father,  was  an 
English  Episcopal  clergyman.  He  was  born 
in  1662,  and  died  in  1735  at  Epworth,  which 
he  had  served  as  rector  for  thirty-nine  years. 
He  began  his  ministry  in  London  in  1668, 
and  married  Susanna  Annesley  in  that  city 
in  1689.  He  was  a  prolific  author  and  poet, 
especially  a  writer  of  hymns.  He  was  the 
steadfast  counselor  and  helper  of  his  sons, 
John  and  Charles,  in  their  efforts  at  laying 
the  foundation  of  Methodism.  The  spirit  of 
the  reformer  was  upon  him  throughout  his 
laborious  and  pious  life.  His  last  word  to 


METHODISM.  39 

Charles,  on  his  deathbed,  was:  "Be  steady. 
The  Christian  faith  will  surely  revive  in  this 
kingdom." 

Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley,  wife  of  Samuel  and 
mother  of  John  and  Charles,  is  one  of  the 
noblest  figures  in  church  history.  She  was 
born  in  London  in  1G69,  and  was  the  twenty- 
fifth  child  of  Kev.  Samuel  Annesley,  D.D.,  a 
distinguished  Puritan  divine,  who  was  known 
as  the  "St.  Paul  of  the  Nonconformists." 
Mrs.  Wesley's  father  was  nephew  to  the  Earl 
of  Anglesea,  and  her  maternal  grandfather, 
John  White,  was  a  leading  member  of  Parlia- 
ment. She  was  devoted  to  her  family  as  few 
women  have  been,  conducting  a  daily  school 
for  her  children  with  such  success  that  sev- 
eral of  them  became  distinguished  scholars. 
She  was  accomplished  beyond  most  women. 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke  said  of  her :  "Such  a  woman, 
taking  her  for  all  in  all,  I  have  not  heard  of, 
I  have  not  read  of,  nor  with  her  equal  have  I 
been  acquainted." 

Kev.  John  Wesley,  A.M.,  thirteenth  child 
of  the  Wesley  family,  the  illustrious  founder 
of  Methodism,  was  born  in  the  Epworth 
Rectory  in  1703;  and  died  in  the  parsonage 
adjoining  the  City  Road  Chapel  in  London 
in  1791,  in  the  eighty  -  eighth  year  of  his 


40  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

life.  He  was  elected  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College,  Oxford,  at  twenty-three,  by  rea- 
son of  his  brilliant  record  in  the  university; 
was  ordained  an  Episcopal  clergyman  by 
Bishop  Potter  at  the  age  of  twenty -two;  was 
three  years  a  missionary  to  Georgia,  chiefly 
at  Savannah,  under  Governor  Oglethorpe; 
and  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  entered  fully 
upon  his  long  and  heroic  itinerant  ministry 
in  Great  Britain  as  an  organizer  and  preach- 
er of  Methodism.  He  was  a  minister  sixty- 
five  years.  He  reformed  Great  Britain,  or- 
ganized Methodism,  formulated  its  constitu- 
tion, polity,  and  doctrines,  instituted  its  Con- 
ferences, and  left  many  thousands  of  Meth- 
odists in  his  Churches.  He  wrote  (or  com- 
piled) for  his  Methodist  people  more  than 
two  hundred  books  and  pamphlets.  As  re- 
former and  apostle,  he  stands  in  history  sec- 
ond only  to  St.  Paul,  whether  judged  by  the 
extent  of  his  labors  or  the  far-reaching  influ- 
ences of  his  ministry.  His  body  rests  in  the 
little  graveyard  of  City  Road  Chapel,  Lon- 
don, surrounded  by  the  tombs  of  Clarke, 
Watson,  Benson,  Bunting,  and  others  of  his 
helpers.  In  Westminster  Abbey  is  a  tablet 
to  his  memory,  on  which  are  inscribed  his 
prophetic  words :  "The  world  is  my  parish." 


METHODISM.  4l 

Kev.  Charles  Wesley,  A.M.,  ranks  closely 
with  his  brother  John  in  the  founding  of 
Methodism.  The  executive  ability  of  the  lat- 
ter was  reenforced  by  the  sacred  music  which 
Charles  gave  to  the  worship  of  early  Meth- 
odism. From  the  beginning  of  Metho- 
dism to  his  death  he  assisted  his  brother  in 
preaching  and  in  organizing  Methodism. 
Charles  Wesley  was  said  by  Southey  to  have 
written  the  "finest  lyric  in  the  English  lan- 
guage." He  was  the  writer  of  many  hymns, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  hymnals  of  the 
churches.  First  of  all  is  his  hymn,  "Jesus, 
Lover  of  my  soul." 

2.  Organization  of  Methodism,  A.D.  1739- 
1791.  From  the  first  "Society"  in  London  to 
John  Wesley's  death. 

John  Wesley  wrote:  "The  first  rise  of 
Methodism  was  in  November,  1729,  when 
four  of  us"  [the  Holy  Club,  increasing  later 
to  thirteen  members]  "met  together  at  Ox- 
ford; the  second  was  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  in 
April,  1736,  when  twenty  or  thirty  persons 
met  at  my  house;  the  last  was  in  London, 
May,  1739,  when  forty  or  fifty  of  us  met  to- 
gether every  Wednesday  evening." 

WThile  these  meetings  led  to  Methodism, 
the  real  origin  was  Wesley's  formation  of  the 


42  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"United  Society"  in  London  in  1730.  The 
first  Methodist  church  building  was  erected 
by  Wesley  in  Bristol,  England,  in  1739.  The 
second  church  building  was  reared  upon  the 
site  of  the  London  "Foundry,"  from  which 
it  took  its  name,  in  1740.  Connected  with 
it  were  rooms  for  Wesley's  preachers,  an  or- 
phans' home,  a  "book  room,"  a  free  dispen- 
sary, etc.  The  most  famous  of  English  Meth- 
odist churches,  the  "City  Road  Chapel,"  Lon- 
don, was  built  by  Wesley  in  1778. 

The  first  Methodist  week-day  school  was 
established  by  Wesley  at  Kingswood,  En- 
gland, for  the  children  of  the  colliers,  prob- 
ably as  early  as  1739.  Wesley  himself  rode 
the  first  regular  Methodist  circuit  in  1742, 
and  then  organized  circuits  for  his  preachers 
throughout  Great  Britain.  The  first  class 
meeting  was  held  at  Bristol,  England,  in 
1742,  and  grew  out  of  a  suggestion  to  use  the 
class  as  a  means  of  paying  a  church  debt. 
The  first  copy  of  our  "General  Rules"  was 
published  over  the  names  of  John  and 
Charles  Wesley  in  1743.  The  first  Annual 
Conference  was  convened  by  Wesley  at  Lon- 
don in  1744,  and  included  six  clergymen  and 
four  lay  preachers.  The  first  "book  room," 
or  publishing  house,  was  established  by  Wes- 


METHODISM.  43 

ley  in  the  Foundry  Church  building,  Lon- 
don, in  1748.  The  first  "missionary"  collec- 
tion was  raised  at  Newcastle,  England,  in 
1767,  for  the  American  Indians.  The  first 
Methodist  college  was  built  by  the  Countess 
of  Huntingdon  in  1768,  at  Trevecca,  Wales, 
for  young  men  who,  as  Methodists,  were  be- 
ing persecuted  at  Oxford  University.  Wesley 
instituted  and  edited  the  first  Methodist 
periodical,  the  Arminian  Magazine,  a  month- 
ly, at  London,  in  1778.  The  first  Bible  Soci- 
ety known,  the  "Naval  and  Military  Bible 
Society,"  was  organized  by  Wesley  in  Lon- 
don in  1779,  twenty-five  years  before  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  began. 
The  first  Methodist  Sunday  school  was  formed 
at  Bolton,  England,  in  1785.  It  was  the  first 
in  the  world  to  use  unpaid  teachers. 

3.  Methodism  in  America,  A.D.  1735-1784- 
From  the  first  Methodist  preaching  to  the  or- 
ganization of  American  Methodism. 

The  Wesley/5  and  Whitefield,  along  the  At- 
lantic seaboard  (1735-37  and  later)  were  the 
first  founders  of  American  Methodism.  In 
1760  came  Philip  Embury  and  Eobert  Straw- 
bridge,  Irish  local  preachers;  Embury  or- 
ganizing Methodism  in  New  York  City  in 
1766,  Strawbridge  probably  earlier  in  Mary- 


44  CHUfiCH  HISTORT. 

land.  Capt.  Thomas  Webb,  a  British  officer, 
organized  Philadelphia  Methodism  in  1767. 
Robert  Williams,  an  English  local  preacher, 
was  the  Virginia  pioneer,  in  1768.  Richard 
Boardman  and  Joseph  Pilmoor  were  sent 
from  England  in  1769  as  the  first  itinerants. 
William  Watters,  of  Maryland,  became  the 
first  native  itinerant  in  1773.  Thomas  Ran- 
kin,  sent  over  by  Wesley,  held  the  first  An- 
nual Conference  in  Philadelphia  in  1773. 
Jesse  Lee,  of  Virginia,  planted  Methodism 
in  New  England  in  1789;  Thomas  Ware,  of 
New  Jersey,  in  Tennessee  and  North  Caro- 
lina about  the  same  time;  William  Losee,  of 
New  York,  in  Upper  Canada  in  1791;  To- 
bias Gibson,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the  South- 
west Territory,  around  Natchez,  in  1799; 
Jesse  Walker,  of  Tennessee,  beginning  in 
1805,  organized  Methodism  in  St.  Louis  and 
later  in  Chicago. 

Among  the  many  historic  Methodist 
churches  of  America,  the  following  exhibit 
the  progress  of  the  Church:  "Sam's  Creek," 
Maryland,  erected  about  1766,  of  which 
Bishop  Asbury  wrote,  "Here  Mr.  Straw- 
bridge  formed  the  first  society  in  Maryland 
— and  America, •"  John  Street  Church,  New 
York  City,  built  in  1768,  oldest  in  the  North ; 


METHODISM.  45 

"St.  George's,"  the  historic  center  of  Phila- 
delphia Methodism,  built  in  1769;  "Lovely 
Lane  Chapel,"  Baltimore,  1774,  in  which,  in 
1784,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized;  "Barrett's  Chapel,"  Delaware, 
1780,  in  which  Coke  and  Asbury  planned  the 
organization  of  American  Methodism;  the 
church  near  Lexington,  Ky.,  1787,  in  which 
Asbury  held  the  first  Conference  west  of 
the  Alleghanies;  the  "Blue  Meetinghouse," 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  1787,  the  first  Methodist 
Church  in  that  city  of  Wesleyan  ministry; 
the  Portsmouth  Church  (near  Portsmouth, 
Ohio),  1801,  the  oldest  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory; the  "Spring  Hill  Church,"  near 
Natchez,  Miss.,  1807,  oldest  in  the  South- 
west; the  "McKendree  Church,"  near  Jack- 
son, Mo.,  1807,  the  first  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, in  which  four  pioneer  Conferences 
were  held;  the  "Old  Tobacco  House,"  of 
Washington,  D.  C.,  which  served  as  a  meet- 
inghouse for  Washington  Methodism  from 
1807  to  1811.  President  Jefferson  attended 
services  in  this  building. 

4.  The  American  Organization,  A.D.  1784- 
1844-  From  the  organization  at  Baltimore 
to  the  division  at  New  York. 

Methodism  ia  America  was  formally  or- 


46  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

ganized  as  "the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church" 
in  December,  1784,  at  Lovely  Lane  Chapel, 
Baltimore,  by  the  "Christmas  Conference" 
convened  by  Coke  and  Asbury,  with  sixty 
out  of  eighty-three  traveling  preachers  in 
attendance.  Coke  was  appointed  bishop  by 
Wesley,  and  Asbury  was  elected  bishop  by 
this  Conference.  The  first  regular  General 
Conference  after  this  organization  was  held 
at  Baltimore  in  1792,  and  the  third,  also  at 
Baltimore,  in  1796,  at  which  six  Annual  Con- 
ferences were  erected,  as  follows:  the  "New 
England,"  the  "Philadelphia,"  the  "Balti- 
more," the  "Virginia,"  the  "South  Carolina," 
and  the  "Western."  Not  until  1808  was  a 
native  bishop,  William  McKendree,  of  Vir- 
ginia, elected.  Among  the  institutions  of 
Methodism  established  during  this  period 
were  the  "Book  Concern,"  in  1789,  under 
John  Dickins,  "book  steward;"  the  Metho- 
dist Magazine,  in  1797;  the  "Missionary  So- 
ciety," organized  in  1819,  Bishop  McKendree 
the  first  president;  the  "Sunday  School  So- 
ciety," in  1827,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Amer- 
ica. In  1828  the  Methodists  of  Canada,  upon 
their  request,  were  set  apart  as  an  independ- 
ent body.  In  1844,  upon  the  issue  of  slavery, 
the  Church  by  vote  of  the  General  Conference 


METHODISM.  47 

was  divided,  and  the  Methodists  of  the  South 
organized,  in  1845,  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South. 


SUMMARY  OF  AMERICAN  METHODISM. 
A.D. 
1703     John  Wesley  born. 

1728  John  Wesley  ordained. 

1729  "Holy  Club,"  called  "Methodists." 
1735-37     Wesley  in  Savannah. 

1739     First  Methodist  Society  organized. 

First  Methodist  "Chapel"  at  Bristol. 

First  Methodist  circuit  organized. 

Class  Meetings  begun. 

General  Kules  published. 

First  Methodist  Conference. 

First  American  Methodist  Society. 

Philip  Embury  preaches  in  New  York. 

John  Street  Church,  first  building. 

Kobert  Williams  in  Virginia. 

Boardman  and  Pilmoor. 

First  American  Conference. 

American  Methodism  organized. 

Asbury  organizes  first  Sunday  school. 

Missions  to  slaves. 

Jesse  Lee  in  New  England. 

First  General  Conference,  Baltimore. 


48  CHUBCII   HISTORY. 

1808  McKendree,  first  native  bishop. 

1820  Formation  of  Missionary  Society. 

1828  Canadian  Methodism  organized. 

1844  General  Conference  divides  Church. 


IV. 
SOUTHERN  METHODISM. 

A.D.  1&&-1909. 

1.  Southern  Methodist  Pioneers,  A.D.  1760- 
1850.  From  Strawbridge  to  Jesse  Boring. 

Every  Methodist  should  hold  in  reverence 
the  heroic  men  who  took  their  lives  in  their 
hands  and  planted  our  Southern  Methodism. 
It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  much  of 
American  Methodism,  in  all  its  sections,  was 
founded  by  men  from  the  South.  After 
Strawbridge,  Williams,  Watters,  Owen,  and 
the  earlier  company  of  pioneers,  came  the 
following  native  leaders : 

Along  the  Atlantic  Seaboard,  beginning 
about  1764,  Francis  Poythress  and  Philip 
Bruce,  in  Virginia;  Thomas  Humphries  and 
Isaac  Smith,  in  the  Carolinas;  Hope  Hull 
and  Eichard  Ivey,  in  Georgia. 

In  the  Holston  Country  were  John  Tun- 
nell  and  Thomas  Ware. 

In  the  Cumberland  Country,  from  the 
Ohio  Kiver  to  the  Gulf,  the  chief  pioneers 
were:  Benjamin  Ogden,  Peter  Massie,  Wil- 
liam Burke,  and  John  Page. 

In  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley  were  To- 
4  (49) 


50  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

bias  Gibson,  Eichmond  Nolly,  and  William 
Winans;  in  the  upper  "Valley"  were  Jesse 
Walker,  James  Gwin,  and  John  Travis. 

Among  the  Methodist  preachers  who  first 
carried  the  gospel  to  the  Southern  tribes  of 
Indians  were  William  Capers,  Isaac  Smith, 
and  Alexander  Talley. 

As  early  as  1829  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference, followed  by  other  Conferences,  be- 
gan missions  among  the  negro  slaves;  and 
among  the  foremost  founders  of  negro  mis- 
sions were  James  O.  Andrew  and  William 
Capers.  On  the  latter's  tomb  are  the  words : 
"Founder  of  Missions  to  Slaves." 

In  the  then  Far  West,  which  stretched 
from  Texas  to  the  Pacific,  were  Martin  Ruter 
and  Robert  Alexander  in  Texas,  and  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  Jesse  Boring. 

Four  "mother"  Conferences  originally  in- 
cluded the  entire  South — the  "Baltimore," 
the  "Virginia,"  the  "South  Carolina,"  and 
the  "Western,"  which  last  extended  from  the 
Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
In  1796  the  General  Conference  organized 
definitely  these  Conferences  and  fixed  their 
bounds.  All  later  Southern  Conferences,  as 
we  now  have  them,  have  grown  from  these 
four  "mother"  Conferences. 


SOUTHERN    METHODISM.  5J 

Of  the  historic  churches  of  Southern  Meth- 
odism "Lovely  Lane  Chapel,"  Baltimore, 
Md.,  stands  first  as  the  place  where  Amer- 
ican Methodism  was  formally  organized. 
"Ellis's  Preaching  House,"  in  Sussex  Coun- 
ty, Va.,  is  noted  as  the  site  of  three  suc- 
cessive pioneer  Annual  Conferences,  in  1782, 
1783,  and  1784.  "Cumberland  Street 
Church,"  Charleston,  S.  C.,  was  the  first 
Methodist  Church  to  erect  "galleries  for  the 
slaves."  "Masterson's,"  near  Lexington,  Ky., 
was  the  first  Methodist  church  west  of  the 
Alleghanies.  The  "Stone  Church,"  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  was  built  near  the  "Square,"  as 
the  oldest,  and  here,  on  October  19,  1800, 
Asbury,  Whatcoat,  and  McKendree  preached 
all  on  one  day.  "Midway,"  in  Amite  County, 
Miss.,  was  the  mother  of  many  famous  West- 
ern standard  bearers.  "Knobb  Chapel,"  New 
Orleans,  on  Bienville  Street,  was  served  by 
William  Winans,  first  New  Orleans  pastor. 
The  first  church  in  Texas  was  built  at  San 
Augustine  under  Ruter.  "Union  Street 
Church,"  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  now  occupied 
by  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  people, 
to  whom  it  was  given,  is  the  famous  church 
in  which  our  first  General  Conference  met 
in  1846.  Our  oldest  and  most  noted  pioneer 


52  CHUBCH   HISTORY. 

Pacific  church  was  built  at  San  Jose",  Cal. 
The  "Wesley  Monumental,"  in  Savannah, 
Ga.,  the  gift  of  all  Methodism,  fittingly  com- 
memorates the  origin  and  the  founder  of 
American  Methodism. 

2.  Southern  Methodist  Growth,  A.D.  1846- 
1909.  From  the  first  General  Conference  to 
the  present  time. 

Southern  Methodism  was  instituted  by  its 
first  General  Conference  at  Petersburg,  Va., 
May,  1846,  with  sixteen  Conferences,  455,217 
members,  and  two  bishops.  This  Conference 
began  the  work  of  foreign  missions,  extended 
later  as  follows:  China,  1846;  Mexico,  1871; 
Brazil,  1873;  Japan,  1886;  Korea,  1896; 
Cuba,  1898.  In  1854  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  decreed  a  division  of  Church 
property  between  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  Southern  Methodisrn.  In  1870 
lay  delegates  were  admitted  to  General  and 
Annual  Conferences;  and  the  Colored  M.  E. 
Church,  under  our  sanction,  and  with  two 
colored  bishops,  was  organized  from  our  ne- 
gro members.  From  the  sixteen  Annual  Con- 
ferences of  1846,  forty-five,  including  eight 
Mission  Conferences,  have  grown.  Thirty 
bishops  have  been  elected,  ten  of  whom  at  this 
date  (1909)  are  living. 


SOUTHERN    METHODISM.  53 

Taking  the  statistics  of  1907  as  a  guide, 
the  total  number  of  traveling,  or  "itinerant," 
preachers  of  our  Southern  Methodism  is  7,- 
188,  which  includes  bishops,  presiding  elders, 
connectional  officers,  and  missionaries  in 
foreign  fields.  The  number  of  pastoral 
charges — that  is,  stations  or  circuits — is 
5,642.  As  there  are  1,725,4(57  members  in 
our  Church,  this  would  give  an  average  of 
240  members  to  the  preacher.  Our  Church 
has  10  living  bishops,  nearly  300  presiding 
elders,  about  30  connectional  or  general 
officers  (including  editors  in  charge  of  Con- 
ference papers),  281  foreign  missionary 
workers,  872  supernumerary  and  superan- 
nuated preachers  (chiefly  the  latter).  The 
number  of  local  preachers  is  4,703.  This 
gives  a  grand  total  of  11,891  Southern  Meth- 
odist preachers. 

3.  Our  Bishops,  A.D.  1844-1909.  From  the 
division  to  1909. 

Including  Soule  and  Andrew,  who  wrere 
received  as  its  first  bishops  by  the  first  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1846,  thirty  bishops  have 
served  our  Southern  Methodism  to  date  of 
1909.  Of  these,  twenty  have  died.  Bascom 
was  elected  in  May  and  died, the  September 
following,  holding  the  office  about  three 


54  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

months.  Parker  and  Haygood  served  only 
three  and  six  years  respectively.  Tigert  was 
ordained  in  May  and  died  in  November. 
Haygood  was  one  of  the  very  few  in  Church 
history  to  decline  election  to  the  high  office, 
yet  he  was  again  elected  at  an  ensuing  Con- 
ference. Galloway  was  thirty-seven  when 
elected;  Early  was  sixty-eight,  the  maximum 
in  age  at  election. 

Counting  our  line  of  bishops  from  Coke 
(1784)  to  Janes  (1844),  the  last  bishop 
elected  by  the  undivided  Church,  and  then 
from  Soule,  the  first  bishop  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  South,  to  Atkins,  elected  in  1906, 
the  total  in  whose  bishopric  we  have  direct 
part  is  forty-two.  Of  these,  the  average  age 
at  election  was  forty-eight  years,  and  their 
average  years  in  office  about  twenty-one. 

Bishops  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South. 

Joshua  Soule,  ordained  1824;  died  March 
6,  1867. 

James  Osgood  Andrew,  ordained  1832; 
died  March  2,  1871. 

William  Capers,  ordained  1846;  died  Jan- 
uary 29,  1855. 


SOUTHEKN    METHODISM.  55 

Robert  Paine,  ordained  1846;  died  Octo- 
ber 19,  1882. 

Henry  Biddleman  Bascom,  ordained  1850 ; 
died  September  8,  1850. 

George  Foster  Pierce,  ordained  1854;  died 
September  3,  1884. 

John  Early,  ordained  1854;  died  Novem- 
ber 5,  1873. 

Hubbard  Hinde  Kavanaugh,  ordained 
1854 ;  died  March  19,  1884. 

William  May  Wightman,  ordained  1866; 
died  February  3,  1882. 

Enoch  Mather  Marvin,  ordained  186G ;  died 
November  26,  1877. 

David  Seth  Doggett,  ordained  1866;  died 
October  27,  1880. 

Holland  Nimmons  McTyeire,  ordained 
1866;  died  February  15,  1889. 

John  Christian  Keener,  ordained  1870 ; 
died  January  19,  1906. 

Alpheus  Waters  Wilson,  ordained  1882. 

Linus  Parker,  ordained  1882;  died  March 
6,  1885. 

John  Cowper  Granbery,  ordained  1882; 
died  April  1,  1907. 

Robert  Kennon  Hargrove,  ordained  1882; 
died  August  3,  1906. 


56  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

William  Wallace  Duncan,  ordained  1886; 
died  March  .2,  1908. 

Charles  Betts  Galloway,  ordained  1886. 

Eugene  Russell  Hendrix,  ordained  1886. 

Joseph  Staunton  Key,  ordained  1886. 

Atticus  Greene  Haygood,  ordained  1890; 
died  January  19,  1896. 

Oscar  Penn  Fitzgerald,  ordained  1890. 

Warren  Akin  Candler,  ordained  1898. 

Henry  Clay  Morrison,  ordained  1898. 

E.  Embree  Hoss,  ordained  1902. 

A.  Coke  Smith,  ordained  1902;  died  De- 
cember 27,  1906. 

John  J.  Tigert,  ordained  1906;  died  No- 
vember 21,  1906. 

Seth  Ward,  ordained  1906. 

James  Atkins,  ordained  1906. 

4.  Southern  Methodist  Boards,  A.D.  1840- 
1909. — The  Board  of  Missions  is  the  Parent 
Board,  and  was  organized  in  1846,  with  of- 
fice in  the  Publishing  House,  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Its  executive  officers  are  a  Secretary-in-Chief 
and  several  Assistant  Secretaries,  together 
with  office  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  It  oper- 
ates mission  stations  in  China,  Japan,  Brazil, 
Mexico,  Korea,  Cuba,  and  has  charge  of  work 
in  the  Mission  Conferences  in  the  United 
States.  It  supports  twenty  foreign  schools 


SOUTHERN    METHODISM.  57 

and  five  hospitals  and  dispensaries.  Its  or- 
gan is  Go  Forward. 

The  Sunday  School  Board  was  organized 
as  now  in  1870.  It  is  managed  by  a  General 
Sunday  School  Board,  of  which  the  Sunday 
School  Editor  is  ex  officio  Chairman,  and  aid- 
ed by  Annual  Conference  Boards.  Its  officers 
are  the  General  Sunday  School  Board,  the 
Sunday  School  Editor  and  Assistant  Editor, 
and  the  Superintendent  of  Training  Work. 
It  supervises  and  directs  all  home  and  for- 
eign Sunday  school  work,  and  prepares  and 
issues  all  Sunday  school  literature,  and  also 
directs  the  teacher-training  work  of  the 
Church.  The  number  of  Sunday  schools  re- 
ported in  1907  was  14,955;  of  officers  and 
teachers,  113,654;  of  Sunday  school  pupils, 
1,127,359. 

The  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
was  organized  in  1878.  Its  executive  officers 
are  the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Assist- 
ant Secretaries,  the  Treasurer,  and  the  Ke- 
cording  Secretary.  Its  papers  are  the  Wom- 
an's Missionary  Advocate  and  the  Little 
Worker.  This  Board  operates  in  the  same 
countries  with  the  Parent  Board.  It  con- 
ducts or  aids  seventy-five  schools;  also  two 
hospitals. 


58  CHUBCH  HISTORY. 

The  Board  of  Church  Extension,  organized 
in  1882,  looks  after  the  purchase  of  lots  and 
buildings  for  Church  or  parsonage  uses.  Its 
office  is  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  the  work  is 
under  a  Corresponding  Secretary.  Since  or- 
ganized it  has  aided  about  5,000  churches 
with  loans. 

The  Woman's  Board  of  Home  Missions  was 
organized  in  1886,  and  helps  to  build  parson- 
ages, maintains  mission  stations  among  our 
foreign  population  in  the  United  States,  and 
conducts  city  and  rescue  missions  and  schools. 
Its  executive  officers  are  a  General  Secretary, 
Associate  Secretary,  Kecording  Secretary, 
and  Treasurer.  Its  official  paper  is  Our 
Homes.  It  maintains  14  schools  and  24  city 
mission  centers. 

The  Epivorth  League  Board,  organized  in 
1890,  is  directed  by  the  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary and  Assistant  Secretary,  and  has  as 
its  official  organ  the  Epworth  Era.  It  su- 
pervises and  assists  the  organized  League 
work  of  the  Church,  and  provides  and  directs 
"Culture  Courses" — biblical,  literary,  and 
historical — for  the  Epworth  Leagues.  In 
1907  there  were  in  operation  3,663  Epworth 
Leagues  and  127,924  members. 

The  Board  of  Education,  organized  in  1894, 


SOUTHERN   METHODISM.  59 

supervises  our  system  of  church  schools.  Its 
officers  are  a  General  Board,  a  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary,  and  a 
"Commission  of  Ten"  to  unify  and  fix  stand- 
ards. The  system  of  schools  at  present  in- 
cludes: One  central  university,  15  colleges, 
47  unclassified  institutions,  52  academies,  12 
schools  not  meeting  requirements  for  acad- 
emies, 2  special  institutions,  5  schools  for  ne- 
groes, and  50  institutions  in  foreign  fields 
under  control  of  Mission  Boards.  The  Board 
also  has  in  charge  Paine  Institute  and  Lane 
College  for  negroes. 

The  Advocate  Family  is  an  important  aux- 
iliary to  the  Church,  both  spiritually  and 
educationally.  It  has  10  papers  serving  our 
Southern  Methodism,  chief  of  which  is  the 
Christian  Advocate,  the  connectional  organ, 
the  editor  of  which  is  elected  by  the  General 
Conference.  The  editors  of  other  Advocates 
are  chosen  by  the  patronizing  Conferences. 
The  other  members  of  the  Advocate  family 
are:  The  Alabama  Advocate,  the  Arkansas 
Methodist,  the  Central  Methodist,  the  South- 
ern Methodist,  the  Baltimore,  New  Orleans, 
North  Carolina,  Raleigh,  Southern,  St.  Louis, 
Texas,  Weslej/an,  West  Virginia,  Western, 
and  Pacific  Advocates. 


60  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

The  Methodist  Review  is  edited  by  the 
Book  Editor  and  assistant,  who  also  edit  the 
General  Minutes,  the  Book  of  Discipline,  the 
Church  Hymnal,  the  Course  of  Study,  and 
the  Church  Catechisms. 

The  Publishing  House,  founded  in  1854,  is 
located  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  with  branch 
houses  at  Dallas,  Tex.,  and  Shanghai,  China. 
Its  directing  Agents,  two  in  number,  are 
elected  quadrennially  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence. 

5.  World-Wide  Methodism.  Of  the  twen- 
ty-eight bodies  or  divisions  of  world-wide 
Methodism,  eleven  are  in  foreign  countries 
and  seventeen  in  America.  Of  these,  only  one 
body,  the  Calvinistic  branch,  chiefly  in  Wales, 
differs  in  doctrine.  In  polity  there  are  main- 
ly minor  differences. 

SUMMARY  OF  SOUTHERN  METHODISM. 

1845  Southern  Methodism  organized. 

1846  First  General  Conference. 

1848     Missions  begun ;  Dr.  Taylor  to  China. 

1866  Fifth  General  Conference  at  close  of 
war;  lay  delegates  enacted;  proba- 
tion abolished;  pastoral  term  ex- 
tended to  four  years  from  two. 


SOUTHERN    METHODISM.  gj 

1870  Laymen  members  of  General  Confer- 
ence. 

1870    Colored  M.  E.  Church  set  apart. 

1878  Woman's  Missionary  Society  organ- 
ized. 

1881  First  Ecumenical  Conference. 

1882  Church  Extension  Society  organized. 
1894     Epworth  League  organized. 

1899  Branch  Publishing  House  at  Dallas. 

1900  Joint  Commissions  appointed. 

1902  Twentieth  Century  Offering  for  Edu- 
cation ;  Joint  Foreign  Publishing 
House. 

1906  Commissions  on  Vanderbilt  University 
and  on  Eestatement  of  Keligion  ap- 
pointed. 

1906  "Methodist     Church     of    Japan"     set 

apart;    new    Nashville    Publishing 
House. 

1907  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  begun. 

SOME  OLD  WORLD  METHODISMS. 

Members. 

Wesleyan 808,301 

New  Connection  46,689 

Independent  9,147 

Primitive 210,173 


62  CHUBCH   HISTORY. 

Members. 

United  Free 103,019 

Australasia 145,805 

NEW  WORLD  METHODISMS. 
Report  of  1906. 

Methodist  Episcopal 2,910,779 

Methodist  Episcopal,  South  (report 

of  1907)    1,725,467 

Methodist  Protestant 183,894 

Free  Methodist   30,271 

Methodist  of  Canada 317,717 

Wesleyan  Methodist 17,909 

Congregational  Methodist  (white).  24,000 

Congregational  Methodist  (colored)  319 

New  Congregational  Methodist. . . .  4,022 

Independent  Methodist  2,569 

Evangelist  Missionary  3,014 

Primitive  6,976 

Union  American  M.  E 18,500 

Zion  Union  Apostolic 2,346 

Colored  M.  E 214,987 

African  Union  Meth.  Protestant . .  3,887 

African  M.  E 842,023 

African  M.  E.  Zion 596,305 


SOUTHERN  METHODISM.  63 

DENOMINATIONAL  NUMERICAL  BANK. 

U.  8.   Government  Report,  1906. 

Members. 

Methodists 6,429,815 

Baptists   5,073,823 

Lutherans    1,841,346 

Presbyterians   1,723,871 

Disciples    1,235,294 

Episcopal  1,232,149 

Congregationalists 687,042 

Koman  Catholic   10,915,251 

The  above  figures  are  taken  in  part  from 
the  Yearbooks  for  1907  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  and  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South. 


SECTION  TWO. 


THE  DOCTRINES 

OP  THE 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH. 


BY  REV.  WILBUR  F.  TILLETT,  D.D., 

Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty  of  Vanderbilt 
University. 

5  (65) 


V. 

DISTINGUISHING  FEATURES. 

METHODISM  represents  a  distinct  system  of 
Christian  doctrine,  and  also  a  type  of  Church 
polity.  Methodists  are  not  one  the  world 
over  in  their  ecclesiastical  polity:  some  are 
episcopal,  some  presbyterial,  and  some  congre- 
gational. But  all  Methodists  are  practically 
a  unit  the  world  over  in  the  type  of  theology 
which  they  hold.  Most  of  the  cardinal  doc- 
trines of  Methodism  are  held  in  common  with 
all  evangelical  Christian  Churches.  Such, 
for  example,  are  the  inspiration  and  divine 
authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  Triuni- 
ty  of  the  Godhead,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the 
fall  of  man  and  the  universal  sinfulnessof  the 
race,  justification  by  faith,  the  necessity  of 
regeneration,  the  future  and  eternal  existence 
of  all  men  after  death,  and  many  other  simi- 
lar doctrines  of  the  highest  significance. 

But  there  are  certain  other  doctrines  which, 
though  not  held  exclusively  by  Methodists, 
have  at  least  been  more  strongly  emphasized 

(67) 


68  THE   DOCTRIHES   OF   METHODISM. 

in  the  faith  and  preaching  of  Methodism  than 
in  any  other  branch  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing: .the  moral  free  agency  and  accountability 
of  man,' the  unlimited  atonement  of  Christ, 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  testifying  to  the  re- 
generate man  of  his  acceptance  with  Godj-  the 
possibility  of  apostasy,' and  the  attainability 
of  entire  holiness  in  this  life. 

Methodism  has  been  the  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God  of  saving  during  the  century 
and  a  half  of  its  existence  not  less  perhaps 
than  fifteen  to  twenty  millions  of  immortal 
souls.  This  result,  which  is  without  a  prece- 
dent in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church, 
is  to  be  attributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the 
intensely  earnest  and  practical  character  of 
its  theology.  "  It  was  not  new  doctrine  but 
new  life  that  the  Methodists  sought  for  them- 
selves and  for  others,"  says  Bishop  McTyeire 
in  the  opening  sentence  of  his  "History  of 
Methodism."  But  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  has  established  the  fact  that 
progress  in  the  spiritual  life  and  maintenance 
of  sound  doctrine  are  vitally  related  to  each 
other. 

The  doctrinal  system  of  Methodism  is  some- 
times designated  as  "Arminian  theology." 


DISTINGUISHING  FEATTJBES.  QQ 

This  designation  connects  it  with  the  name  of 
James  Arminius  (1560-1609),  a  noted  theolo- 
gian of  Holland.  As  Martin  Luther  and  his 
fellow-reformers,  although  reared  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  were  led  by  their  enlight- 
ened convictions  to  protest  against  what  they 
considered  the  corrupt  practices  and  false 
teachings  of  this  Church,  and  were  for  that 
reason  called  Protestants,  so  James  Arminius 
and  his  associates,  although  first  instructed  in 
the  strict  teachings  of  high  Calvinism,  felt  com- 
pelled to  utter  a  remonstrance  against  certain 
extreme  Calvinistic  doctrines  concerning  pre- 
destination, election,  reprobation,  etc.,  and 
were  for  that  reason  called  Remonstrants. 
The  celebrated  "five  points"  of  Calvinism, 
setting  forth  the  peculiar  and  distinctive  doc- 
trines of  that  system  of  theology,  were  offset 
by  the  no  less  distinctive  "five  points"  of 
Arminianism,  viz.:  (1) Conditional  election — 
that  is,  God  elected  to  salvation  those  who,  he 
foresaw,  would  freely  repent  of  their  sins  and 
believe  in  Christ,  and  to  reprobation  those 
whose  willful  impenitence  and  unbelief  he 
foresaw.  (2)  Jesus  Christ  died  alike  for  all 
men,  but  only  those  who  repent  and  believe 
will  secure  the  saving  benefits  of  his  atoning 
death.  (3)  The  ability  of  fallen  man  to  re* 


70  THE   DOCTRItfES   OF   METHODISM. 

pent  and  believe  is  of  grace  and  not  of  nature, 
and  spiritual  renewal  or  regeneration  is  en- 
tirely of  the  Spirit's  operation.  (4)  Never- 
theless divine  grace  and  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  are  not,  as  Calvinism  affirms,  irresistible; 
but  may  be  resisted  by  man,  who  is  a  moral 
free  agent,  and  who,  though  he  may  be  con- 
victed of  sin  against  his  will,  is  never  con- 
verted against  his  will.  (5)  The  possibility 
of  a  truly  regenerated  man  falling  away  from 
his  saved  estate  and  being  finally  lost  was  first 
left  an  open  question,  but  was  soon  decided, 
as  the  logic  of  the  system  required  that  it  should 
be,  in  the  affirmative. 

The  doctrinal  system  of  Methodism  is  also 
designated  as  "Wesleyan  theology."  This 
designation  associates  it  with  the  names  of 
John  and  Charles  Wesley.  John  Wesley 
(1703-1791)  was  perhaps  the  greatest  reform- 
er, preacher,  and  evangelist  that  has  ever  ap- 
peared in  England.  Methodism  is  but  one  of 
the  many  results  that  have  come  from  his  life 
and  labors.  John  Wesley's  theology  was  in- 
tensely evangelical  and  practical,  and,  like 
that  of  the  apostle  Paul,  was  to  a  large  extent 
colored  by  his  own  religious  experience.  He 
accepted  the  system  formulated  by  James  Ar- 
minius  and  the  Remonstrants  of  Holland,  in 


DISTINGUISHING  FEATURES.  f\ 

all  the  points  wherein  that  system  differed 
from  Calvinism.  But  he  did  something  more 
for  it  than  accept  it.  Arminian  theology,  as 
it  was  formulated  by  the  Remonstrants,  was, 
as  an  intellectual  system  of  doctrine,  logical, 
self -consistent,  and  true;  but  it  was  cold;  it 
was  lacking  in  the  warmth  and  intensity  of 
spiritual  life;  it  needed  to  be  quickened  by 
the  faith  and  the  fire  of  an  evangelical  experi- 
ence. This  is  exactly  what  John  Wesley  did 
with  it  and  for  it.  He  carried  it,  as  it  were, 
to  the  altar,  and  there  it  was  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost;  and,  surcharged  with  evan- 
gelical life  and  converting  power,  it  was  sent 
forth  upon  its  world- wide  mission  of  evangel- 
ization. In  Methodism  we  find  the  doctrines 
of  Arminius  put  into  practice  as  living  truths, 
made  matters  of  personal  religious  experience, 
and  utilized  as  mighty  spiritual  forces  for 
saving  souls  and  spreading  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  |_In  Wesleyan  theology  the  intensive 
power  of  the  gospel  to  save  each  individual 
from  all  sin  is  as  much  emphasized  as  is  its  ex- 
tensive power  to  save  all  sinners,  whoever 
they  may  be  and  whenever  and  wherever 
they  may  liveH 

In  1784  John  Wesley  reduced  the  thirty- 
nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  to 


72  THE   DOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

twenty-five  in  number,  and  abridged  and  oth- 
erwise altered  some  of  those  which  he  retained. 
These  he  sent  to  America  by  Thomas  Coke, 
whom  he  had  ordained  bishop,  and  they  were 
accepted  as  the  general  creed  of  Episcopal 
Methodism  in  America.  They  have  ever 
since  occupied  a  foremost  place  among  our 
doctrinal  standards. 

John  Wesley's  sermons  also  have  always 
been  numbered  among  the  leading  ' '  doctrinal 
standards"  of  Methodism.  They  may  be 
lacking  here  and  there  in  the  accuracy  and 
uniform  self -consistency  of  doctrinal  state- 
ment that  we  have  a  right  to  expect  in  works 
of  dogmatic  theology,  but  what  they  lack  in 
these  respects  they  more  than  gain  in  the 
spiritual  power  that  belongs  to  them  as 
sermons  glowing  with  a  living  Christian  ex- 
perience and  setting  forth  the  great  truths 
that  pertain  to  man's  salvation.  Richard 
Watson's  "Theological  Institutes"  may  not 
be  altogether  up  to  date,  but  they  have  in 
them  a  theology  that  is  well  adapted  to  the 
world's  conversion  and  upbuilding  in  the  spir- 
itual life.  Adam  Clarke,  the  first  great  repre- 
sentative commentator  of  Methodism,  showed 
by  his  able  and  scholarly  expositions  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  how  thoroughly  faithful  to 


DISTINGUISHING  FEATURES.  73 

the  Bible  were  the   doctrinal   teachings   of 
Methodism. 

Charles  Wesley,  the  poet-preacher  and  the- 
ologian, rendered  a  service  to  the  theology  of 
Methodism  scarcely  less  important  and  far- 
reaching  than  that  of  his  brother  John.  He 
gave  happy  expression  in  verse  to  all  the 
great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  he  was 
especially  happy  in  the  hymns  which  he  wrote 
embodying  the  more  distinctive  doctrines  of 
his  faith.  These  hymns  became  at  once  im- 
mensely popular  with  the  people,  and  gave 
wings,  as  it  were,  to  the  doctrines  they  em- 
bodied. A  sermon  put  into  a  song  doubles 
its  power  for  good.  Nor  did  these  doctrinal 
hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  simply  meet  a  local 
and  temporary  need;  they  have  an  abiding 
value,  and  have  carried,  in  the  most  effective 
manner  possible,  the  doctrines  they  contain 
into  the  hymnals  of  all  Christian  Churches 
the  world  over.  While  John  Wesley's  hymns 
are  not  numerous,  and  are  mostly  translations 
from  other  languages,  they  are  in  no  way  in- 
ferior to  those  of  Charles  Wesley  either  in 
poetic  merit  or  doctrinal  value.  Jt  is  in  por- 
traying those  doctrines  which  are  matters  of 
religious  experience  that  the  Wesleyan  hymns 
are  richest  both  in  variety  and  in  intensity  of 


t4  THE   DOCTRINES    OF   METHODISM. 

utterance.  The  great  reformation  in  Germa- 
ny in  the  sixteenth  century  owed  much  to  the 
fact  that  Luther  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a 
preacher,  and  embodied  all  his  leading  doc- 
trines in  simple  and  popular  hymns  that  were 
adapted  to  the  common  people  as  well  as  in 
sermons  and  theses  that  were  adapted  to  the 
learned.  But  the  Wesleyan  reformation  owed 
even  more  to  its  hymns.  "  Let  me  write  the 
songs  of  a  people,"  said  one,  "and  I  care  not 
who  may  write  their  laws;  I  will  govern 
them."  "  Let  me  write  the  hymns  of  a 
Church,"  said  another,  "and  I  care  not  who 
may  write  her  creeds  and  ponderous  volumes 
of  theology;  I  will  determine  the  faith  of  her 
membership."  The  Methodist  hymn  book 
has  always  been  reckoned  among  the  doctri- 
nal standards  of  the  Church.  It  has  ever 
been  one  of  the  most  effective  of  the  agencies 
employed  for  indoctrinating  the  people  in 
that  type  of  evangelical  Christian  faith  which 
is  known  the  world  over  as  Methodist  theology. 
But  the  designation  of  Methodist  theology 
as  "Arminian  "  and  "Wesleyan  "  must  not  be 
misunderstood.  Methodist  theology  is  first 
of  all  and  above  all  biblical.  Every  evangel- 
ical Church  recognizes  the  Bible  as  the  source 
and  foundation  of  its  theology.  It  is  after 


DISTINGUISHING   FEATUBE8.  75 

all  simply  a  question  of  the  proper  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Bible.  Calvinism  is  a  logical  and 
self-consistent  system  of  doctrine  which  finds 
its  starting  point  and  its  determining  princi- 
ple in  the  eternal  decrees  of  Jehovah,  and  in- 
terprets the  entire  revelation  contained  in 
the  Bible  in  accordance  with  that  doctrine. 
Methodism  also  has  a  logical  and  self -consist- 
ent system  of  doctrine  which  in  like  manner 
is  based  upon  the  Bible,  but  it  finds  its  start- 
ing point  and  determining  principle  in  two 
doctrines  that  mutually  necessitate  and  sup- 
'port  each  other — viz.,  the  moral  free  agency 
ofman  and  the  imlimifoifl  ^j-onement  of  Christ; 
and  we  may  say  that  every  other  doctrine  of 
Methodist  theology  is  a  logical  outcome  of 
these  two  doctrines.  Methodism,  therefore, 
claims  that  its  theology  is  the  theology  of  the 
New  Testament,  the  theology  of  Christ  and  of 
Paul.  It  is  that  simple  and  primitive  type  of 
theology  which  began  to  be  preached  in  its 
completed  form  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
has  never  since  been  without  its  true  witness- 
es in  any  age  of  the  Church's  history.  It  has 
needed,  however,  to  be  restated  and  reformu- 
lated ever  and  anon.  Such  was  the  service 
rendered  by  James  Arminius  and  John  Wes- 
ley, and  by  others  before  and  since  their  day. 


VI. 
THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 

WHAT  doctrine  does  Methodism  hold  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Scriptures?  This  is  best 
answered  by  first  asking  another  question: 
What  does  the  Bible  teach  concerning  itself  ? 
The  Bible  teaches,  we  answer,  that  "All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection, for  instruction  in  righteousness:  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly' 
furnished  unto  all  good  works."  It  teaches 
that  "prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the 
will  of  man:  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost; "  and  that 
"  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers 
by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spo- 
ken unto  us  by  his  Son."  Moses  is  represent- 
ed as  having  received  directly  from  God  the 
Ten  Commandments,  which  are  with  us  to 
this  day,  and  whose  high  moral  character 
well  befits  their  claim  of  a  divine  origin. 
"The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  say- 
ing," is  the  preface  with  which  the  proph- 
ets begin  their  messages.  These  remarkable 
(76) 


THE   HOLY   SCB1PTTJBES.  77 

claims  demand  of  us  that  we  make  serious  in- 
quiry as  to  their  import.  If  this  Book  is 
what  it  claims  to  be,  no  man  can  afford  to  ig- 
nore or  neglect  its  teachings.  ' '  These  [things] 
are  written,"  says  St.  John,  in  concluding  the 
fourth  Gospel,  and  it  is  in  a  sense  equally 
true  of  all  Scripture,  "that  ye  might  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;  and 
that  believing  ye  might  have  life  through  his 
name." 

These  quotations  cover  the  three  main 
questions  which  we  need  to  ask  concerning 
the  Bible,  and  suggest  the  proper  answers  to 
them:  (1)  Where  did  the  Bible  come  from? 
We  answer  that  it  is  divine  in  its  origin,  in 
that  its  cardinal  and  distinguishing  doctrines 
were  revealed  by  God  to  man.  (2)  How  did 
God  reveal  these  facts  and  doctrines?  We 
answer:  Through  certain  chosen  men  whom 
the  Holy  Spirit  inspired  as  trustworthy  or- 
gans for  the  communication  of  the  divine 
will.  (3)  What  purpose  are  these  inspired 
Scriptures  designed  to  fill  in  the  divine  econ- 
omy as  it  concerns  man?  We  answer:  They 
are  a  divinely  provided  guide  for  man  in  all 
matters  of  a  moral  and  spiritual  nature,  espe- 
cially such  as  pertain  to  his  faith  and  conduct 
here  and  bis  life  in  the  world  to  come.  Thus 


78  THK  DOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

we  have  the  three  theological  terms,  revela- 
tion, inspiration,  and  the  canon,  answering 
the  three  questions  as  to  the  whence,  the  how, 
and  the  what  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

God  reveals  something  of  himself  and  of 
his  will  through  nature  and  providence,  but 
this  general  revelation  has  always  proved  in- 
adequate to  meet  man's  spiritual  needs,  being 
insufficient  to  impart  a  true  and  satisfactory 
knowledge  of  God,  of  the  way  of  salvation, 
and  of  the  immortality  and  destiny  of  the 
soul.  That  religious  knowledge  which  fallen 
man  needed  but  could  not  secure  from  nature, 
God  has  supplied  in  a  supernatural  manner  by 
revelation.  It  is  these  divine  or  supernaturally 
revealed  facts  and  truths  which,  as  collected 
together  within  the  Bible,  constitute  it  a  di- 
vine Book.  Nevertheless,  the  Bible  is  not 
wholly  divine;  it  is  rather  divine-human,  for 
much  that  is  contained  in  it  is  human  in  its  ori- 
gin and  did  not  need  to  be  divinely  revealed. 
This  unrevealed  portion  of  the  Bible  is,  in  fact, 
the  larger  portion.  It  is,  however,  a  faithful 
and  trustworthy  record,  quite  as  much  as  is 
that  portion  which  records  the  divine  revela- 
tions. The  human  elements  furnish  the  lit- 
erary and  historical  framework  for  holding 
the  divinely  revealed  truths.  The  divine  rev- 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  79 

elations  contained  in  the  Bible  are  of  trans- 
cendent importance,  and  so  far  give  character 
to  the  volume  as  a  whole  that  it  is  common, 
and  not  inappropriate,  to  designate  it  as  the 
Book  of  Revelation. 

What  is  the  evidence  that  the  Bible  contains 
supernatural  revelations  ?  The  divine  authori- 
ty of  the  Bible  depends  upon  the  truth  of  the 
claim  that  it  contains  supernatural  revelations; 
and  if  this  be  true,  the  claim  ought  to  be  sup- 
ported by  supernatural  evidence.  And  it  is. 
The  prophets  who  claimed  to  have  received 
divine  revelations  proved  the  truth  of  their 
assertions  by  working  miracles.  When  Moses, 
for  example,  announced  to  the  children  of  Is- 
rael in  Egypt  that  he  had  received  a  revela- 
tion and  a  command  from  God  in  the  desert, 
they  immediately  and  very  naturally  demand- 
ed proof  of  such  a  claim.  The  God  who  had 
given  the  revelation  had  provided  for  this 
reasonable  demand,  and  empowered  him  to 
work  miracles.  In  some  instances  the  vindi- 
cation of  the  divine  claim  on  the  part  of  the 
prophet  was  found  in  the  fulfillment  of  pre- 
dictions which  he  uttered  concerning  the  fu- 
ture. In  yet  other  instances  the  revelations 
announced  by  the  prophets  as  coming  from 
God  were  self-evidencing — that  is,  weue  in. 


gO  THE   DOCTRINES  OF   METHODISM. 

their  nature  so  thoroughly  accordant  with  the 
moral  character  of  God  and  man's  religious 
needs  that  they  carried  their  own  evidence  in 
them,  and  hence  did  not  need  to  be  supported 
by  miracles  or  predictions.  Our  reason,  there- 
fore, for  believing  that  the  Bible  contains  .di- 
vine revelations  is  found  in  part  in  the  mira- 
cles the  prophets  apd  the  apostles  wrought, 
in  part  in  the  fulfillment  of  their  predictions 
of  future  events,  in  part  in  the  intrinsic  moral 
excellence  of  the  doctrines  taught,  and  finally 
in  the  uplifting  and  ennobling  moral  influence 
the  Bible  has  had  upon  the  character  of  all 
the  nations  and  individuals  that  have  believed 
and  followed  its  teachings. 

But  the  passages  of  Scripture  which  were 
quoted  above  seem  to  teach  not  only  that  God 
has  made  revelations  of  his  will  from  time  to 
time,  but  that  it  was  his  will  that  a  trustwor- 
thy record  should  be  made  of  these  revelations. 
They  imply  that  the  Holy  Spirit  exercised  an 
influence  upon  those  who  wrote  the  books  of 
Holy  Scripture  such  as  cannot  be  claimed  for 
the  writers  of  any  other  books.  This  special 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  minds 
of  the  biblical  writers  was  designed  to  prevent 
them  from  making  hurtful  mistakes  in  the 
statements  they  should  give  of  the  great  mor- 


THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES.  81 

al  and  spiritual  truths  of  religion,  and  in  an 
important  sense  to  make  their  words  God's 
words,  and  their  book  to  be  God's  Book. 
This  is  what  is  meant  by  saying  that  the  bibli- 
cal writers  were  ' '  inspired. "  St.  Peter  speaks 
of  a  certain  scripture  "  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
spake  by  the  mouth  of  David."  The  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  uses  inter- 
changeably the  expressions  "  the  Holy  Ghost 
testifieth "  and  "one  [that  is,  the  writer]  in  a 
certain  place  testifieth."  In  other  words, 
what  the  inspired  writer  says  God  says. 

To  affirm  that  the  biblical  writers  were  in- 
spired does  not  mean  that  they  lost  their  hu- 
man individuality  and  freedom,  and  were 
turned  into  machines.  The  inspired  proph- 
ets and  apostles  were  not  shorthand  report- 
ers. Only  in  a  few  instances  do  they  tell 
us  that  they  wrote  down  the  very  "words 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  teach eth."  In  the  Ten 
Commandments  we  have  the  very  words  of 
God.  But  as  a  rule  the  expression  of  the 
thought,  even  when  it  was  revealed,  was  de- 
termined by  the  individual  writer,  whose 
style  and  other  mental  peculiarities  may  be 
seen  everywhere  in  his  writings.  There  may 
be  several  accounts  of  the  same  events,  all 
differing  in  the  words  used,  and  yet  all  be 
6 


82  THE   DOCTRINES   OP  METHODISM. 

equally  true  and  accurate.  The  great  pur- 
pose of  inspiration  is  to  secure  truth  in  the 
records,  not  uniformity  and  sameness  of  state- 
ment. The  four  evangelists  record  very  much 
the  same  events,  and  yet  they  differ  both  in 
literary  style  and,  as  a  rule,  in  the  words  used; 
but  all  are  equally  true  and  equally  inspired. 
The  various  books  of  the  Bible  are  as  genu- 
inely human  and  as  thoroughly  marked  by  the 
individual  characteristics  of  their  human  au- 
thors as  if  they  had  been  written  by  unin- 
spired men.  To  recognize  the  distinctly  hu- 
man element  in  the  Bible  is  not  to  detract 
from  its  moral  value,  but  rather  to  add  to  its 
value  for  man's  guidance,  even  as  the  human- 
ity of  Christ  makes  him  a  better  Saviour  than 
if  he  had  possessed  no  human  nature  at  all. 
Truth  is  none  the  less  true  because  uttered  by 
human  lips.  Christ  is  none  the  less  divine  be- 
cause he  had  a  genuinely  human  nature. 

But  the  strongest  of  all  arguments  in  proof 
of  the  doctrine  of  biblical  inspiration  is  the 
manner  in  which  Christ  refers  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  absolute  divine  authority  which 
he  attributes  to  them.  To  him  and  to  the 
apostles  they  were  none  other  than  God's  own 
words.  Our  Lord  made  distinct  reference  to 
David's  inspiration  when  he  asks:  "  How  then 


THE    HOLY    SCRIPTURES.  83 

doth  David  in  spirit  call  him  Lord? "  If  the 
Old  Testament  was  written  by  divinely  in- 
spired men  and  possessed  of  divine  authority, 
how  much  more  the  New,  which  was  the  full 
and  final  expression  of  the  revealed  will  of 
God!  We  believe  in  the  New  Testament 
chiefly  because  of  what  it  tells  us  of  Christ; 
and  in  the  Old  Testament  chiefly  because  of 
what  Christ  tells  us  of  it — tells  us  by  the  way 
he  used  it  and  appealed  to  it  as  the  very  word 
of  God.  Perhaps  the  best  possible  definition 
which  we  can  give  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is 
drawn  from  their  relation  to  Christ,  thus: 
"By  the  Holy  Scriptures  we  mean,  (1)  those 
ancient  sacred  books  of  the  Jewish  Church 
which  Christ  and  his  inspired  apostles  used 
and  appealed  to  as  of  divine  authority;  and 
( 2)  those  sacred  books  of  the  New  Testament 
which  set  forth  the  life  and  teachings  of  our 
Lord,  and  which  were  written  by  or  under  the 
direction  of  his  apostles."  Christianity  be- 
lieves in  the  Person  first,  and  in  the  Book  sec- 
ond. It  is  the  divine-human  Person  that  makes 
the  Book,  not  the  divine-human  Book  that 
makes  the  Person.  Christianity  could  live 
without  a  Book,  but  it  could  not  live — indeed, 
it  could  not  be  at  all — without  the  Person  of 
Christ. 


84  THE   DOCTRINES   OF  METHODISM. 

The  Canon  of  Holy  Scripture,  then,  is  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  that  collection  of  sacred 
books  which  were  written  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  primary  object  of 
which  was  to  meet  man's  moral  and  religious 
needs.  They  incidentally  contain  history,  bi- 
ography, chronology,  philosophy,  science,  etc. , 
but  they  were  not  written  primarily  to  teach 
any  of  these  things,  and  the  entire  accuracy 
of  their  statements  concerning  questions  of 
this  kind  is  a  matter  of  absolute  insignificance 
as  compared  with  the  great  moral  principles 
and  spiritual  truths  that  are  the  distinguishing 
features  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  in 
reference  to  these  truths  that  we  appeal  to  it 
as  the  divine  and  authoritative  word  of  God. 

The  word  "  canon  "  means,  literally,  a  rule; 
and  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  a  canon  in  that 
they  are  a  divine  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  a 
standard  of  doctrine  and  ethics.  The  word 
"  canonical"  is  also  applied  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures to  distinguish  them  from  books  which 
were  not  regarded  as  inspired  and  of  divine 
authority,  such  as  the  Old  Testament  Apoc- 
rypha. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  as  we  now  have  them, 
are  substantially  identical  with  the  Scriptures 


THE    HOLY    SCRIP-TUBES.  g5 

which  Christ  and  the  apostles  used.  These 
Scriptures  of  the  old  covenant  are  not  called 
old  because  they  are  antiquated  and  obsolete; 
for,  although  the  dispensation  for  which  they 
were  immediately  written  has  long  since  come 
to  an  end,  having  served  its  purpose,  these 
ancient  Scriptures  have  an  abiding  significance 
and  value.  A  large  part  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  occupied  exclusively  with  setting  forth  the 
ritual  and  ceremonial  law  of  the  Jewish 
Church,  which  is  not  now  binding  and  has 
never  been  since  the  day  of  Pentecost;  but,  so 
far  as  they  embody  God's  moral  law,  they  are 
of  as  much  authority  now  as  they  ever  were, 
and  are  of  equal  authority  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Inasmuch,  however,  as  transitory 
and  now  obsolete  precepts  are  intermingled 
with  those  which  are  of  perpetual  obligation, 
the  Old  Testament  must  be  read  and  inter- 
preted with  intelligent  discrimination. 

All  inspired  books  are  of  importance,  but 
some  are  of  more  importance  than  others.  That 
portion  of  the  Bible  which  transcends  in  mor- 
al value  all  other  parts  of  the  Bible  is  the  four 
Gospels.  Christianity  is  a  historical  religion. 
Its  Founder  is  a  Person  who  lived  at  a  definite 
time  and  place,  and  the  Gospels  purport  to 
give  a  trustworthy  record  of  the  leading  facts 


86  THE    DOCTRINES    OF   METHODISM. 

of  his  life,  his  sayings  and  doings.  The  whole 
question  as  to  whether  or  not  there  is  a  super- 
natural religion  in  the  world  depends  upon  the 
historical  trustworthiness  of  these  Gospel  rec- 
ords. If  any  records  in  the  literature  of  the 
world  are  entitled  to  credence,  these  surely 
are.  Paul  probably  wrote  his  Epistles  many 
years  before  the  Gospels  were  written.  Four 
of  the  Pauline  Epistles  (Romans,  First  and  Sec- 
ond Corinthians,  and  Galatians)  are  univer- 
sally admitted  by  well-nigh  all  classes  of  theo- 
logians and  critics  to  be  genuine,  and  to  come 
from  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century. 
These  Epistles  establish  the  fact  beyond  a 
doubt  that  Christ  was  at  that  time  regarded 
as  a  divine-human  Being,  who  had  died  upon 
the  cross  and  had  risen  again  from  the  dead. 
These  are  the  main  facts  of  supernatural  reli- 
gion— viz.,  the  incarnation  of  Christ  and  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  If  these  are  true, 
the  Gospels  are  fully  confirmed,  and  the  ex- 
istence of  a  supernatural  religion,  with  its  su- 
pernatural Christ,  is  established.  This,  we 
saw  at  the  outset,  is  the  supreme  and  final  end 
for  which  the  Scriptures  exist :  ' '  That  ye  might 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God;  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life 
through  his  name." 


VII. 
THE  BIBLE  DOCTRINE  OF  MAX. 

IF  God  is  the  chief  object  of  divine  revela- 
tion, man,  we  may  say,  is  the  principal  subject 
of  revelation.  The  inspired  Scriptures  are  ad- 
dressed to  man  and  are  largely  about  himself, 
his  nature  and  needs,  his  duty  and  destiny. 
The  Scriptures  give  us  four  views  of  man: 
first,  primitive  man,  in  his  unfallen  state,  as 
God  made  him,  innocent  and  pure;  second, 
man  in  his  fallen  state,  as  he  made  himself, 
sinful  and  depraved;  third,  man  in  a  state  of 
gracious  ability,  as  Christ  made  him  by  his 
redeeming  work;  fourth,  man  in  a  state  of  re- 
generation or  restoration  to  the  divine  image, 
as  the  Holy  Spirit  is  ready  to  make  all  those 
who  come  unto  God  by  Christ.  In  this  chap- 
ter we  shall  consider  man  as  originally  created 
and  as  fallen. 

The  only  rational  account  we  have  of  man's 
origin,  that  in  Genesis,  makes  him  to  be  the 
last  and  highest  product  of  creation;  and  this 
is  equally  true  whether  the  inspired  narrative 
be  explained  literally  or  as  truth  taught  in 
allegorical  and  symbolical  form.  This  high- 
est of  God's  earthly  creatures  is  possessed  of 

(87) 


gg  THE  DOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

two  natures,  physical  and  spiritual,  in  one  per- 
sonality. Man  is  allied  to  lower  animals  in 
his  physical  nature,  but  to  the  angelic  world  in 
his  spirit.  His  material  or  physical  nature  is 
sometimes  called  flesh  and  sometimes  body. 
His  immaterial  nature  is  designated  some- 
times as  soul  and  sometimes  as  spirit.  It  is 
in  man's  immaterial  or  spiritual  nature  that 
we  find  the  real  seat  of  manhood.  It  is  this 
spiritual  nature  that  gives  him  his  conscious- 
ness and  reason,  his  intellect,  sensibilities,  and 
will,  his  conscience,  his  capacity  for  sin  on 
the  one  hand  and  for  holiness  on  the  other, 
his  capacity  for  the  worship  and  service  of 
God,  his  likeness  to  God,  his  divine  sonship 
and  immortality.  Man  is  represented  in  the 
Bible  as  having  been  created  in  the  image  of 
God,  endowed  with  reason  and  moral  free 
agency,  placed  under  moral  laws,  obedience  to 
which  results  in  holy  character,  and  disobe- 
dience to  which  is  sin  and  results  in'sinf  ul  char- 
acter. His  life  here  is  probationary  in  that  his 
character  as  formed  here  determines  his  desti- 
ny in  the  world  to  come. 
(The  supreme  purpose  of  God  in  creating 
man  seems  to  have  been  to  make  possible  the 
highest  ideal  of  creaturely  holiness  and  happi- 
ness.) There  was  need  in  the  universe  of  a 


THE   BIBLE   DOCTRINE   OF   MAX.  gQ 

creature  whose  highest  happineaa  would  bo  se- 
cured b^  his  highest  holiness;  and  this  holiness, 
in  turn,  would  secure  the  highest  glory  of  the 
Creator.  The  holiness  of  a  free  being  is  a 
higher  type  of  holiness  than  any  kind  of  holi- 
ness that  might  characterize  a  being  who 
should  be  necessitated  by  the  will  of  the  Cre- 
ator to  be  and  do  what  he  is  and  does,  and  the 
former  holiness  would  glorify  the  Creator  far 
more  than  the  latter  possibly  could.  The  lat- 
ter could  glorify  God  only  as  a  house  does  its 
builder,  while  the  former  would  glorify  him  as 
a  dutiful  and  obedient  son  does  his  father,  a 
righteous  citizen  his  ruler,  or  a  brave  soldier 
his  leader.  But  in  order  for  God  to  make  holi- 
ness possible  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
him  to  make  sin  possible.  But  while  God 
made  sin  possible  by  creating  free  moral  agents 
and  placing  them  in  a  state  of  probation,  he 
did  not  make  sin  actual.  It  was  man,  not 
God,  who  made  sin  actual.  God,  we  may  say, 
would  not  have  made  sin  possible  if  he  could 
have  secured  the  highest  ideal  of  holiness  in 
man  without  such  possibility.  But  there  are 
some  things  which  even  omnipotence  cannot 
do;  it  cannot  do  an  impossible  thing,  and  the 
creation  and  probation  of  a  free  being  who 
cannot  sin  are  an  impossibility.  But  the  high- 


90  THE  DOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

est  ideal  of  the  Creator  as  embodied  in  man, 
the  moral  free  agent,  would  have  been  realized 
if  8in  had  forever  remained  simply  a  possibil- 
ity and  had  never  become  an  actuality.  That 
ideal  has  been  realized  in  one,  and  only  one — 
the  Son  of  Man.  But  the  first  Adam  was  as 
free  from  sin  when  he  came  from  the  hands  of 
his  Creator  as  was  the  infant  born  of  the  Vir- 
gin. The  first  man  was  under  no  necessity  to 
sin.  He  was  free. 

We  may  say,  then,  that  while  man's  first  es- 
tate was  thus  one  of  innocence  and  purity,  two 
alternatives  were  before  him  as  a  moral  free 
agent:  holiness  and  sin.  But  the  life  and  pro- 
bation of  the  first  pair  had  not  been  of  long 
duration  before,  by  an  abuse  of  their  moral 
freedom,  innocence  and  purity  gave  place  to 
sin  and  guilt.  The  history  of  mankind,  from 
that  time  on^  is  the  history  of  a  fallen  and 
sinful  race.  The  "fall  of  man"  is  a  phrase 
which  is  commonly  used  in  theology  to  de- 
scribe man's  loss  of  original  righteousness  and 
his  coming  under  the  dominion  of  sin.  The 
fall  of  Adam  is  regarded  as  the  fall  of  the 
race,  because  of  the  fact  that  he  was  not  only 
the  natural  head,  but  in  such  a  sense  the  fed- 
eral head  and  moral  representative  of  the  race, 
which  was  seminally  in  him,  that  certain  con- 


THE   BIBLE   DOCTRINE  OF    MAN.  9J 

sequences  of  his  sin  were  entailed  upon  them. 
But  Adam's  relation  to  the  universal  sinful- 
ness  of  the  race  is  a  matter  of  secondary  im- 
portance as  compared  to  the  undeniable  fact 
that  all  men  are  by  nature  sinful  and  stand  in 
need  of  a  Saviour. 

The  Bible  uses  various  expressions  to  define 
the  nature  of  sin.  The  essence  of  sin  is  self- 
ishness, sotting  one's  own  will  in  opposition 
to  the  will  of  the  Creator,  or  willful  trans- 
gression of  the  law  of  God.  Sin  is  "enmity 
against  God. "  The  sinner  is  one  who  has  de- 
throned God,  the  rightful  ruler,  from  his  seat 
of  authority  in  the  heart,  and  has  set  himself 
up  as  ruler  instead,  and  the  result  is  a  state  of 
internal  moral  anarchy.  The  fact  that  the 
will  of  the  creature  so  often  manifests  its 
disobedience  to  the  commands  of  God,  by 
yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  the  fleshly  or 
animal  nature,  has  given  rise  to  calling  sin 
"the  flesh"  or  "the  carnal  mind."  The  seat 
of  sin,  however,  is  in  the  inner  spiritual  man, 
in  the  heart,  and  not  in  the  flesh.  Outward 
acts  are  sins  only  in  so  far  as  they  are  expres- 
sions of  inner  volitions,  dispositions,  and 
states.  "Out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil 
thoughts."  If  the  tree  is  evil,  its  fruit  must 
be  evil.  The  look  of  the  eye  that  comes 


92  THE  nOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

from  lust  in  the  heart  does  pot  need  the  out- 
ward act  to  make  it  sin.  The  decision  to 
commit  murder,  or  even  the  hate  of  the  heart 
that  may  lead  to  murderous  volition,  makes 
one  a  murderer  in  the  eyes  of  God^.  There 
are  different  degrees  of  guilt.  /  .There  may  be 
sins  oj  culpable  thoughtlessness  and  igno- 
rance,-NBins  of  surprise  in  which  one  is  over- 
taken in  a  fault,"sins  of  deliberate  choice  and 
malice  aforethought,^  sins  that  involve  the 
breaking  of  a  solemn  covenant,*  and  sins 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  which  the  sinner, 
by  persistence  in  willful  wrongdoing,  passes 
beyond  the  possibility  of  being  renewed 
again  unto  repentance,  and  hence  beyond  the 
possibility  of  pardon.  (Matt.  v.  28,  xv.  19; 
1  John  iii.  4;  Rom.  viii.  6-8;  Mark  iii.  29; 
Heb.  vi.  6.) 

A 

But  sin  is  not  only  a  voluntary  transgression 
of  the  law  of  God;  it  is  also,  according  to  the 
definition  of  St.  John,  any  want  of  conform- 
ity to  that  law.  Sins  often  repeated  beget  a 
habit  of  sin.  Sinful  habits  long  continued  in 
beget  sinful  character.  Sin  in  the  first,  in- 
stance always  involves  a  consciously  evil  act, 
but  the  oftener  a  man  sins  the  more  does  sin 
become  to  him  the  law  of  life,  and  the  less 
does  the  element  of  consciousness  enter  into 


THE   BIBLE   DOCTRINE   OF   MAN.  Q3 

his  sinning.  Whenever  a  man  thus,  by  long- 
continued  violations  of  God's  law,  reaches  the 
point  where  conscience  ceases  to  rebuke  him 
for  his  violation  of  God's  law — where  he 
ceases  to  feel  painfully  the  guilt  of  his  sins, 
where  sin  has  become  the  law  of  life  to  him, 
has  become,  as  it  were,  the  natural  thing  to  do — 
then  he  has  become  possessed  of  a  sinful  char- 
acter. This  is  sometimes  called  acquired  de- 
pravity, as  distinct  from  voluntary  sin,  or  the 
sin  of  nature,  as  distinct  from  willful  sin. 
Sinful  character  is  the  result  of  sinful  volitions 
and  acts,  but  when  character  is  formed  it  be- 
comes a  predisposing  cause  of  the  volitions 
and  acts  that  result — that  is,  a  man  does  not 
come  from  the  hand  of  his  Creator  a  bad  man; 
he  becomes  a  bad  man  only  as  a  result  of  his 
own  evil  volitions  and  evil  deeds;  but  when 
he  has  thus  become  a  bad  man,  then  the  re- 
verse is  true,  and  we  may  say  of  such  a  one 
that  he  does  evil  because  he  is  a  bad  man. 
We  thus  see  what  willful  sin  is,  and  also  its 
relation  to  moral  depravity  and  to  sinful  char- 
acter. 

•  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  inherited  de- 
pravity as  well  as  acquired  depravity.;  It  is 
commonly  called  original  sin,  and  may  be  de- 
fined as  that  "corruption  of  the  nature  of 


94  THE   DOCTBINE8   OF   METHODISM. 

every  man,  that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the 
offspring  of  Adam,  whereby  he  is  very  far 
gone  from  original  righteousness,  and  of  his 
own  nature  inclined  to  evil,  and  that  con- 
tinually." That  all  men  do  from  their  very 
infancy  manifest  a  tendency  to  do  wrong 
rather  than  to  do  right;  that  children  left  to 
themselves  as  they  grow  up  will  do  that  which 
is  morally  wrong  rather  than  that  which  is 
right — is  one  of  the  most  undeniable  of  all 
moral  facts.  If  the  Church  creeds  and  the 
biblical  writers  were  silent  about  it,  we  still 
could  not  fail  to  recognize  this  universal  sin- 
fulness  of  man.  As  this  bias  to  sin  charac- 
terizes man  from  his  very  infancy,  it  may 
reasonably  be  inferred  that  it  is  inherited. 
Hence  it  is  sometimes  called  "birth  sin." 
Many  think  it  unfortunate  that  it  ever  should 
have  been  called  "sin"  or  "guilt;"  think 
that  these  terms  should  have  been  reserved 
for  willful  sin.  Methodists  do  not  believe 
that  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin  was  imputed  or 
charged  to  his  descendants  in  any  sense  ex- 
cept that  certain  consequences  of  his  wrong- 
doing (as  is  more  or  less  true  of  every  par- 
ent's wrongdoing)  were  entailed  upon  his 
offspring,  j  Nor  does  the  inheriting  of  a  bias 
toward  sin  involve  any  culpability  or  guilt 


THE   BIBLE  DOCTBINE   OF    MAN.  95 

whatever  until  a  child  arrives  at  an  age  of 
moral  accountability  and  can  bring  the  sin- 
ward  tendencies  of  his  nature  under  the  do- 
minion of  grace,  but  refuses  to  do  so.  Then 
he  may  justly  be  held  responsible  and  punish- 
able for  it  and  its  consequences.] 

Another  phrase  that  is  used  in  this  connec- 
tion, and  is  much  misunderstood,  is  "total 
depravity."  It  is  a  term  Unit  was  coined  by 
theologians  who  took  a  view  of  original  sin 
and  its  effect  that  Methodists  do  not  indorse. 
This  term  and  also  that  of  "original  guilt" 
are  quite  consistent  with  the  cardinal  doc- 
trines of  Augustinian  theology,  but  whenev- 
er they  appear  in  Methodist  theology  (as  they 
sometimes  do)  they  call  for  definition  and 
explanation.  There  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
both  inherited  and  acquired  depravity.  We 
believe  that  a  man  may,  by  persistent,  willful 
sin,  acquire  a  character  that  is  totally  depraved. 
But  the  theological  phrase  "total  depravity" 
refers  to  man's  state  as  affected  by  the  fall  of 
Adam  and  by  inherited  depravity,  and  car- 
ries along  with  it  the  idea  that  all  men  in 
their  natural  state  are  totally  depraved  and 
devoid  of  all  good.  To  say  that  sin  has  af- 
fected every  part  of  man's  nature  (body,  mind, 
heart,  soul,  spirit,  etc.),  that  it  is  total,  ex- 


06  THE   DOCTRINES   OF    METHODISM. 

tensively  considered,  is  undoubtedly  true; 
but  to  say  that  all  men  until  regenerated  are 
totally  depraved  in  their  moral  nature  (a 
massa  perditionis,  as  Augustine  said),  totally 
devoid  of  all  good,  as  bad  as  they  can  possi- 
bly be — that  is  a  statement  not  in  accord  with 
Methodist  theology.;  Methodists  believe  that 
the  atonement  of  Christ  embraced  all  men  in 
its  saving  benefits;  and  that,  while  men  are  not 
actually  saved  by  it  until  they  accept  Christ 
by  faith,  yet  many  of  its  general  benefits  have 
extended  to  all  men  from  the  very  beginning 
of  the  history  of  the  race,  and  precede  per- 
sonal salvation.  There  is  some  good  in  all 
men,  even  in  unregenerate  human  nature, 
which  is  therefore  not  to  be  regarded  as  to- 
tally depraved.  But,  while  this  is  true,  Meth- 
odist theology  affirms  that  whatever  of  good 
is  found  in  unregenerate  men  is  an  effect  of  the 
atonement,  and  therefore  due  not  to  nature 
but  to  grace.  If  the  fallen  race  had  been 
suffered  to  exist  and  propagate  itself  unre- 
deemed, it  would  have  become  totally  de- 
praved, but  God  did  not  suffer  it  to  go  unre- 
deemed. All  men,  as  a  result  of  the  atone- 
ment, have  gracious  ability  to  meet  the  con- 
ditions of  salvation. 


VIII. 

THE  DOCTRINES  PERTAINING  TO 
PERSONAL  SALVATION. 

IF  we  say  that  "  God  the  Father  plans,  God 
the  Son  executes,  and  God  the  Holy  Spirit  ap- 
plies," we  have  a  formula  which  states  with 
approximate  accuracy  the  specific  work  of 
each  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  in  the 
great  work  of  human  redemption.  The  exe- 
cution of  the  divine  plan  of  redemption  was 
committed  to  the  Son,  and  as  fulfilled  it  is 
called  the  atonement.  The  application  of  the 
atoning  work  of  Christ  to  the  actual  salvation 
of  men  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose 
gracious  influences  act  upon  and  cooperate 
with  the  free  will  of  man.  It  is  but  another 
method  of  stating  the  same  great  truth  to  say 
that  the  originating  cause  of  man's  salvation 
is  the  love  of  God,  the  meritorious  cause  is 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  the  efficient  cause  is 
the  power  of  the  Ht>ly  Spirit,  and  the  deter- 
mining cause  is  the  free  will  of  the  redeemed 
sinner.  In  this  chapter  we  are  especially  con- 
cerned with  the  two  elements  last  named. 

Personal  salvation  is  a  result  of  cooperation 
"  (07) 


98  THE    DOCTBINES    OF   METHODISM. 

between  God  and  man,  between  the  divine  and 
the  human  will.  Although  salvation  is  of 
God's  free  grace,  it  is  none  the  less  of  man's 
free  choice.  While  man  cannot  save  himself, 
neither  can  God  save  him,  in  keeping  with  the 
revealed  principles  of  his  moral  government, 
unless  man  himself  chooses  to  fulfill  the  con- 
ditions of  salvation.  As  a  mere  matter  of 
power,  of  course  the  omnipotent  divine  will 
can  cause  the  finite  human  will  to  do  any- 
thing, to  put  forth  any  volition  whatsoever; 
but  such  a  divinely  necessitated  human  voli- 
tion could  not  be  free,  and  in  the  matter  of 
personal  salvation  man  is  entirely  free  to  ful- 
fill or  not  to  f ulfili  the  conditions  of  salvation. 
The  Bible  represents  God  as  being  without  par- 
tiality and  no  respecter  of  persons.  God  our 
Saviour  "will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  and  to 
come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  and  is 
"not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance."  Personal  sal- 
vation and  damnation,  therefore,  are  not  de- 
termined by  election  and  nonelection  in  eter- 
nity, but  by  the  free  wiH  of  man.  ^The  con- 
dition of  fallen  man  as  affected  by  the  atone- 
ment is  one  of  gracious  ability  to  fulfill  all 
conditions  necessary  to  salvation;  but  while 
his  present  moral  ability  is  of  grace,  that 


PERSONAL  SALVATION.  99 

grace  itself  is  free  and  not  arbitrary  and  irre- 
sistible. 

If  the  work  of  personal  salvation  be  ana- 
lyzed and  separated  into  its  various  parts,  it 
may  be  said  to  consist  of  the  following  ele- 
ments: (1)  Conviction  of  sin,  which  is  that 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  conscience 
of  the  sinner  by  which  he  is  awakened  and 
made  to  realize  his  sinful  and  lost  condition; 
(2)  repentance,  which  is  such  godly  sorrow  on 
account  of  sin  as  leads  to  the  forsaking  of  all 
sin  and  the  confession  of  sin;  (3)  faith,  or  that 
belief  of  the  mind  and  trust  of  the  heart  by 
which  the  penitent  sinner  accepts  Jesus  Christ 
as  a  personal  Saviour;  (4)  justification,  which  is 
something  done  for  us,  being  that  act  of  God 
by  which  he  pardons  all  the  past  sins  of  the 
penitent  believer;  (5)  regeneration,  which  is 
something  done  in  us,  being  that  act  of  God  by 
which  he  breaks  the  dominion  of  the  sin  of  na- 
ture and  creates  us  anew,  which  transforma- 
tion is  called  the  new  birth  and  is  followed 
by  adoption  into  the  family  of  God;  (6)  the 
witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  spirit  of  the 
regenerate  believer,  testifying  to  his  pardon 
and  adoption,  and  producing  a  divine  convic- 
tion of  salvation;  (7)  sanctification,  which  as 
commonly  denned  refers  to  that  work  of  the 


100  THE   DOCTRINES    OF   METHODISM. 

Holy  Spirit,  in  cooperation  with  the  regener- 
ate spirit,  which  separates  the  soul  from  all 
sin,  carrying  on  the  work  begun  in  regenera- 
tion, and  completing  it  in  Christian  perfection. 

The  first  six  elements  enumerated  above 
constitute  "conversion,"  as  this  term  is  popu- 
larly used.  *  There  are  three  salvations  spoken 
of  in  the  Bible.  "Repent  of  thy  sins  and  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved;"  this  is  the  first.  "Work  out  your 
own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling;"  this 
is  the  second,  and  it  is  a  continuous,  pro- 
gressive work.  "He that  endureth  to  the  end 
shall  be  saved;"  this  is  the  third,  and  refers 
to  final  salvation  at  the  last  day.  A  clear 
knowledge  of  all  these  doctrines  may  not  be 
necessary  to  salvation,  but  there  can  be  no  in- 
telligent type  of  piety  that  is  not  based  upon 
both  an  intellectual  and  an  experimental  knowl- 
edge of  all  that  the  Scriptures  represent  as 
necessay  to  salvation. 

Conviction  of  sin  is  a  result  of  the  Holy 
Spirit's  application  of  the  preached  word  and 

*  If  the  term  ' '  sanctification ' '  be  used  in  its  strictly 
Scriptural  sense,  it  also  is  included  in  conversion. 
But  the  common  theological  use  of  that  term  refers* 
it  to  a  work  of  grace,  either  progressively  or  instan- 
taneousiy  wrought,  subsequent  to  "  conversion. " 


PERSONAL  SALVATION.  101 

the  divine  law  to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  a 
sinner,  and  is  often  irresistibly  produced;  but 
while  the  sinner  may  be  convicted  against  his 
will,  and  in  spite  of  efforts  to  the  contrary,  yet 
he  is  not  irresistibly  converted.  Under  con- 
viction he  is  free  either  to  resist  the  wooings 
of  the  Spirit  or  to  follow  the  Spirit's  leadings 
on  to  repentance  and  faith.  [_A  moral  free 
agent  is  never  more  free  than  in  that  intense 
and  critical  moment  when  he  is  irresistibly 
awakened  and  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  his 
true  condition.  "  It  is  the  most  critical  and  re- 
sponsible moment  in  all  his  life;  for  then  it  is 
that  his  eternal  destiny  is  hanging  in  the  bal- 
ance, and  nothing  but  the  will  of  the  free  agent 
can  determine  which  way  the  scales  of  destiny 
shall  be  made  to  turn.  Conviction  of  sin  is 
one  of  the  chief  offices  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
Christ  promised:  "When  he  is  come,  he  will 
reprove  [convict]  the  world  of  sin,  and  of 
righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  (John  xvi. 
8. )  And  he  began  this  work  on  the  day  of  his 
coming  at  Pentecost:  "  Now  when  they  heard 
this,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said 
unto  Peter  and  to  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? "  (Acts  ii.  37.) 
Repentance  and  faith  are  man's  work,  the 
only  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  here  being  to 


102  THE    DOCTRINES    OF   METHODISM. 

graciously  aid  man  in  fulfilling  these  human 
^  Conditions  of  salvation.  The  necessity,  na- 
^£*~<-«-«ture,  and  benefits  of  repentance  may  be  shown 
in  these  words  of  Scripture:  "Except  ye  re- 
•^pent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  (Luke 
^xiii.  3.)  "Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts:  and 
let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will 
have  mercy  upon  him;  and  to  our  God,  for 
he  will  abundantly  pardon."  (Isa.  Iv.  7.)  Of 
faith  it  is  said:  "Without  faith  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  please  God:  for  he  that  cometh  to  God 
must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him." 
(Heb.  xi.  6.)  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  (Acts  xvi. 
31.)  This  means  to  accept  Christ  as  a  per- 
sonal Saviour.  Confession  of  sin  and  confes- 
sion of  Christ  prove  that  repentance  and  faith 
are  true.  Justification  and  regeneration,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  entirely  God's  work;  with 
them  man  has  nothing  to  do,  save  that  he  per- 
forms the  conditions  on  which  the  pardon  and 
regeneration  of  his  soul  are  suspended.  Jus- 
tification is  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  is  condi- 
tioned not  on  our  good  works  but  on  our 
faith:  "To  him  that  worketh  not,  but  belie v- 
eth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  hia 


PKKSONAL  SALVATION.  103 

faith  is  counted  for  righteousness."  (Rom. 
iv.  5.)  To  the  penitent  the  promise  is:  "I 
will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember 
their  sin  no  more."  (Jer.  xxxi.  34.)  But  a 
deeper  work  than  this  is  necessary:  "Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  (John  iii.  3. )  This  is  re- 
generation; it  also  is  conditioned  on  faith:  "As 
many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God."  (John  i.  12.) 

In  the  Cal  vinistic  system  regeneration  comes 
first;  and  faith,  repentance,  and  justification 
follow.  Faith  is,  according  to  Calvinistic 
theology,  the  first  act  of  a  regenerate  soul. 
Regeneration,  (which  is  confused  with  "ef- 
fectual calling")  and  irresistible  grace,  must 
needs  come  first  because  the  fallen  human 
race  are  regarded  as  totally  depraved,  as  ab- 
solutely dead  in  sin,  to  exact  conditions  of 
whom  would  be  like  demanding  acts  of  a  phys- 
ically dead  man  as  a  condition  of  imparting 
life  to  him.  If  God  had  from  all  eternity 
unconditionally  elected  certain  ones  to  salva- 
tion, and  foreordained  the  means  and  the  time 
of  their  efficacious  call  and  conversion;  if  it 
were  true  that  regeneration  comes  first,  and 
faith  and  repentance  follow,  then  would  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  unconverted 


104  THE    DOCTRINES    OF    METHODISM. 

and  the  call  of  sinners  to  repentance  and  sal- 
vation seem  to  be  a  useless  work,  and  the 
present  mode  of  preaching  the  gospel  and 
pressing  the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion 
upon  the  consciences  of  sinners  could  not  be 
justified.  More  faithful  to  Scripture  is  that 
theology  which  teaches  that  man,  though  fall- 
en, and  in  a  sense  morally  dead,  is  yet  recog- 
nized as  a  living  and  responsible  moral  agent, 
endowed  graciously  with  ability  to  seek  and 
obtain  salvation  through  divinely  appointed 
conditions  (repentance  of  sin  and  faith  in 
Christ),  on  the  fulfillment  of  which  God  gra- 
ciously pardons  all  his  past  transgressions, 
and  so  transforms  his  sinful  moral  nature  as 
to  deliver  him  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and 
make  him  a  new  creature  in  Christ.  It  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  that  we  have  true 
scriptural  views  concerning  the  doctrines  of 
personal  salvation.  We  should  make  no  mis- 
take in  answering  the  question  of  the  awakened 
sinner:  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

It  may  be  asked  why  personal  salvation  on 
God's  part  consists  of  both  justification  and 
regeneration.  Why  would  not  justification 
alone  or  regeneration  alone  suffice  to  make 
complete  the  salvation  of  a  soul?..  The  an- 
swer is  not  far  to  seek.  It  is  because  there 


PEBSONAL  SALVATION.  105 

are  two  kinds  of  sins— actual  sin,  or  voluntary 
transgression  of  the  law  of  God;  and  the  sin 
of  nature,  which  consists  of  both  original  sin 
and  the  reflex  influence  on  moral  character  of 
repeeted  acts  of  sin,  From  both  of  these 
kinds  of  sin  man  needs  to  be  saved.  Justifi- 
cation, or  pardon,  concerns  actual  sin  alone, 
and  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  sin  of  nature; 
and  so  repentance  also  is  of  actual  sins,  and 
not  of  original  sin.  Regeneration,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  to  do  exclusively  with  the  sin 
of  nature — original  sin  and  the  habitus  of  sin, 
or  hereditary  and  acquired  depravity.  A 
tendency  toward  disease  (consumption,  for 
example)  may  be  inherited,  or  it  may  be 
superinduced  by  acts  of  imprudence  or  by 
sickness,  or  it  may  be  both  inherited  and 
superinduced;  and  if  so,  the  two  tendencies 
run  together  and  become  one.  And  so  it  is 
with  fallen  man:  he  inherits  a  bias  toward 
sin ;  and  this  is  strengthened  by  the  effects  of 
actual  sin,  both  alike  calling  for  that  divine 
act  which  is  designated  as  regeneration.  £  If 
man  were  simply  justified,  and  not  at  the  same 
time  regenerated,  his  past  sins  would  be  par- 
doned; but  he  would  be  left  under  the  domin- 
ion of  his  sinful  nature,  and  would  necessarily 
continue  to  sin.  <.  Hence  regeneration  is  rep- 


1()6  THE   DOCTRINES   OF  METHODISM. 

resented  as  "breaking  the  dominion  of  sin," 
"cleansing  the  moral  nature,"  "being  born 
again,"  "created  anew."  Acts  of  sin  may  be 
compared  to  the  black  characters  written  upon 
a  sheet  of  paper;  the  sin  of  nature,  to  discol- 
oring elements  that  enter  into  the  very  fiber 
of  the  paper  itself.  The  blotting  out  of  sins 
(Acts  iii.  19)  is  the  pardon  of  all  actual  trans- 
gressions, but  another  and  different  act  is  re- 
quired to  cleanse  and  purify  the  sin-polluted 
nature  of  man.  Justification  and  regenera- 
tion always  take  place  at  the  same  time. 

Conviction  of  sin  is  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
to  the  sinner's  true  condition,  and  so  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit  to  the  regenerate  believer 
may  be  called  conviction  of  salvation.  It  is 
thus  that  the  Holy  Spirit  both  begins  and 
crowns  the  work  of  personal  salvation.  The 
soul  that  undergoes  all  these  experiences  is  a 
genuine  and  a  happy  convert,  and  nothing 
less  than  an  experience  of  all  these  elements 
of  personal  salvation  entitles  one  either  to  re- 
ceive from  God,  as  a  sacred  seal  to  his  salva- 
tion, the  witness  of  adoption  and  the  assur- 
ance of  sonship,  or  to  be  regarded  by  man 
as  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  "The 
Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit, 
that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  (Rom. 


PERSONAL  SALVATION.  107 

viii.  16.)  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God  hath  the  witness  in  himself."  (1  John 
v.  10. )  But  what  the  child  of  God  is  conscious 
of  is  not  "the  witness  of  the  Spirit,"  but  the 
fact  of  being  saved.  It  is  the  office  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  convince  him  of  this  fact.  But  this 
blessed  assurance  that  belongs  by  right  to 
every  child  of  God  should  not  be  confused  with 
a  certain  ebullition  of  joy  that  sometimes  ac- 
companies certain  ' '  happy  conversions. "  The 
latter  is  a  thing  of  temperament ;  some  have 
it  and  some  do  not;  moreover,  it  "comes  and 
goes."  But  the  true  witness  of  the  Spirit  is 
not  a  thing  of  temperament,  it  does  not ' '  come 
and  go ; "  but  is  a  birthright  to  be  claimed  by 
every  child  of  God,  no  matter  what  his  temper- 
ament. 

"Quit  your  meanness,  and  be  saved,"  may 
pass  for  a  "short  method  of  salvation"  and 
"religion  made  easy,"  and  may  be  followed 
by  shaking  the  preacher's  hand  and  joining 
the  Church;  but  it  is  not  the  full  and  com- 
plete salvation  from  sin  that  is  described  in 
the  Bible.  Conviction  of  sin,  repentance, 
faith,  justification,  regeneration,  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit — all  these  are  necessary  to  make 
a  genuine  Bible  Christian.  Nor  have  we  any 
right  to  make  personal  salvation  any  simpler 


108  THE   DOCTRINES    OF   METHODISM. 

or  easier  than  the  Bible  makes  it.  When  con- 
version is  based  upon  an  intelligent  under- 
standing and  a  genuine  experience  of  all  these 
elements  of  salvation,  then,  and  then  only, 
does  it  mean  experimental  religion  and  impart 
spiritual  power.  Nor  should  we  recognize  any 
conscious  sin  as  compatible  with  the  regen- 
erate state  except  to  be  abhorred  and  forsaken, 
pardoned  and  cleansed,  as  soon  as  it  is  seen  by 
the  child  of  God.  This  ideal  of  holiness  and 
freedom  from  sin  is  the  birthright  privilege 
and  duty  of  every  child  of  God  from  the  very 
moment  of  his  regeneration;  and  we  must  not 
lower  God's  high  standard  to  rpake  it  fit  man's 
shortcomings. 

Great  as  is  the  work  above  described  in  the 
salvation  of  a  soul,  it  is  not  all  that  is  to  be 
done;  indeed,  it  is  nothing  more  than  entrance 
upon  the  Christian  life.  And  the  Christian 
life  does  not  consist  in  merely  retaining' what 
has  been  thus  attained.  The  victory  over  sin 
has  not  yet  been  fully  and  finally  won;  the 
first  great  battle  has  been  successfully  fought, 
and  the  long  warfare  has  begun.  All  sin  "in 
sight"  was  given  up  at  and  in  "conversion;" 
but  other  sin  will  presently  come  in  sight  as 
the  Christian  advances  and  his  spiritual  vision 
grows  clearer.  And  all  holiness  and  love 


PERSOXAT,  SALVATIOX.  1Q9 

and  duty  in  sight  were  welcomed,  and  assumed 
according  to  the  degree  of  knowledge  and 
faith  then  possessed.;  but  knowledge  and 
faith  will  increase,  and  soon  it  will  appear 
that  if  the  character  attained  in  justification 
and  regeneration  was  regarded  as  "perfec- 
tion," it  was  a  very  imperfect  perfection. 
Sinlessness,  entire  holiness,  the  perfect  life — 
that  is  the  ever-advancing  goal  that  is  ahead 
of  the  regenerate  child  of  God. 

Christian  perfection  is  the.  name  given  to  this 
doctrine  which  holds  a  place  of  highest  hon- 
or in  Methodist  theology.  Perfection  is  a 
term  which  the  Scriptures  use  in  describing 
the  ideal  religious  experience  and  character 
which  has  been  made  possible  by  divine  grace. 
Methodism,  taking  the  term  from  the  Bible, 
teaches  that  it  is  not  only  a  possibility  and  a 
privilege,  but  the  duty  of  every  child  of  God  to 
attain  unto  that  type  of  Christian  experience 
and  character,  and  to  lead  that  life  that  may 
be  fitly  described  by  the  term  "Christian  per- 
fection." As  to  what  is  to  be  accomplished 
progressively  and  what  instantaneously,  and 
whether  or  not  Christian  perfection  is  a 
ihing  to  be  "professed" — these  are  points 
of  secondary  importance  about  which  Metho- 
dists do  now  differ,  and  always  have  differed. 


IX. 
THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

OUR  '  Thirteenth  Article  of  Religion  con- 
tains the  following  definition  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church:  "The  visible  Church  of  Christ 
is  a  congregation  of  faithful  men,  in  the  which 
the  pure  word  of  God  is  preached,  and  the 
sacraments  duly  administered  according  to 
Christ's  ordinance,  in  all  those  things  that  of 
necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same." 

This  excellent  definition  suggests:  (1)  The 
relation  of  the  Church  to  Christ,  its  divine 
Founder,  whose ' '  ordinances  "  are  its  laws.  (2) 
The  Church  is  organized  Christianity,  not  an 
aggregation  of  detached  and  unrelated  units, 
but  a  visible  "congregation"  or  collection  of 
men  bound  together  by  a  common  relation  to 
Christ  and  to  each  other,  and  organized  for  the 
accomplishment  of  a  definite  purpose  in  the 
world.  (3)  It  is  composed  of  "faithful  men" 
— that  is,  men  who  possess  both  faith  in 
Christ  and  fidelity  to  Christ,  to  secure  which 
type  of  character  in  its  membership  proper 
conditions  of  admission  to  the  Church  and  a 
proper  discipline  over  those  in  the  Church  must 
be  enforced.  (4)  The  first  function  of  the 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  Ht 

Church  is  the  teaching  or  preaching  of  the 
word,  which  must  be  committed  mainly, 
though  not  exclusively,  to  those  especially 
charged  therewith  and  trained  therefor — that 
is,  the  Christian  ministry.  (5)  The  sacra- 
ments, baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  are  to 
be  duly  administered.  (6)  There  are  some 
things  which  "of  necessity  are  requisite"  to 
the  Church  and  its  sacraments,  and  other 
things  which  are  not  of  necessity  required— 
in  other  words,  essentials  and  nonessentials  in 
religion.  In  the  former  there  must  be  unity; 
in  the  latter  there  may  be  liberty. 

While  it  is  most  common  to  designate  the 
Church  as  the  Church  of  Christ,  it  is  none  the 
less  appropriately  called  the  Church  of  God 
and  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  the 
Church  of  the  Triune  God.  It  is  first  of  all 
called  "the  church  of  God"  (Acts  xx.  28) 
or  the  "household  of  God"  (Eph.  ii.  19). 
As  such  it  has  existed  from  the  beginning, 
and  is,  in  a  sense,  one  in  all  ages.  From  the 
beginning  of  time  there  have  always  been 
true  believers  in  God,  and  these  have  consti- 
tuted the  true  Church. 

The  Church  is  most  frequently  and  appro- 
priately designated  as  the  Church  of  Christ, 
because  it  is  founded  upon  his  divine-human 


THE   nOCTRTXES   OF   METHODISM. 

person  and  work,  upon  his  life  and  teaching, 
upon  his  atoning  death  and  resurrection,  upon 
his  session  at  the  right-hand  of  the  Father, 
and  his  intercession  for  the  saints.  The  new 
order  of  things  which  Christ  came  to  estab- 
lish, he  usually  designates  as  his  kingdom, 
the  "kingdom  of  God,"  or  the  "kingdom  of 
heaven."  Only  twice  does  he  use  the  word 
"Church"  (ekklesia),  the  one  case  referring 
to  a  local  assembly  of  Christian  people  (Matt, 
xviii.  17),  and  the  other  being  the  classic  pas- 
sage in  which  he  refers  to  the  visible  organi- 
zation of  Christian  believers  for  all  time,  and 
announces  the  faith,  the  foundation,  and  the 
perpetuity  of  the  Church :  ' '  He  saith  unto  them 
[his  disciples],  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am? 
And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Bless- 
ed art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona:  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  also 
unto  thee,  That  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  church;  and  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  (Matt.  xvi. 
15-18.)  When  Christ  said  to  Peter,  "Upon 
this  rocJc  I  will  build  my  church,"  he  prob- 
ably referred  to  St.  Peter's  confession,  "Thou 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE   CHUBCH. 

art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God;" 
the  one  great  truth  contained  in  which — viz. , 
the  divinity  of  Christ — is  the  true  rock  of 
faith  upon  which  the  Church  is  built.  Some 
think  that  Christ  referred  to  himself  as  "this 
rock;"  others,  that  he  referred  to  St.  Peter 
as  a  representative  of  the  apostles,  whose  work 
and  inspired  teachings  were,  in  an  important 
sense,  to  constitute  the  foundation  of  the 
Church. 

The  Church,  again,  is  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  beginning  of  the  Christian 
Church  as  a  visible  organization  took  place  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  For  this  beginning 
Christ's  work  is  shown  by  the  Gospel  records 
to  have  been  preparatory.  Not  until  our 
Lord's  revelation  concerning  the  nature  of  his 
spiritual  kingdom  was  complete,  and  not  un- 
til his  atoning  death  and  resurrection  were 
become  historical  facts,  had  the  time  come  for 
the  historical  beginning  and  foundation  of 
the  Church.  (^The  Church  is  the  organ  which 
the  Spirit  uses  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
work  in  the  world.  The  Spirit  can  and  does 
work  under  any  outward  form  of  Church 
government.  That  is  the  truest  Church  that 
can  furnish,  in  the  number  of  souls  saved 
through  its  agency,  the  most  indubitable  and 
8 


114  THE  DOCTRINES   OF   METHODISM. 

abiding  evidence  of  possessing  this  supreme 
credential:  the  presence  and  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.) 

The  visible  Church,  in  the  widest  sense  of 
that  term,  includes  all  Churches  and  all  mem- 
bers in  all  Churches  who  acknowledge  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  Head  and  trust  in  him  and  him 
alone  for  salvation.  These  constitute  but  one 
spiritual  body,  as  viewed  by  Christ  the  Head. 
The  true  scriptural  unity  is  not  so  much  one 
of  outward  form  as  of  inward  life;  it  is  a  uni- 
ty based  on  a  true  confession  of  faith  in  one 
God,  who  is  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  It 
is  entirely  consistent  with  this  idea  of  scrip- 
tural unity  that  there  should  be  many  reli- 
gious denominations  within  the  Church  of 
Christ, 

There  is  a  distinction  to  be  made  between 
the  outward  and  visible  Church,  which  is  com- 
posed of  all  professing  Christians,  and  the 
true  spiritual  and  invisible  Church,  which  is 
composed  only  of  real  and  true  Christians. 
While  the  visible  Church  will  always  contain 
in  its  membership  some  who  are  not  in  the 
invisible  and  spiritual  kingdom  of  Christ,  yet 
an  effort  should  be  made  to  make  the  two  cor- 
respond as  nearly  as  possible.  The  Church 
of  the  New  Testament  is  composed  of  the 


THE   DOCTRINE  OF   THE   CHUECH.  H5 

saved:  "  The  Lord  added  to  them  day  by  day 
those  that  were  being  saved."  (Acts  ii.  47.) 
Before  any  one  is  admitted  to  full  member- 
ship in  the  Church,  he  should  give  evidence 
not  only  of  his  sincere  "desire  to  flee  the 
wrath  to  come  and  to  be  saved  from  his  sins," 
but  also  of  "the  genuineness  of  his  faith;"  in 
other  words,  he  should  give  credible  evidence 
of  having  exercised  such  repentance  and  faith 
as  are  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament  as  the 
conditions  of  salvation.  This  will  secure,  ap- 
proximately at  least,  a  membership  of  truly  con- 
verted people.  If  these  scriptural  conditions 
of  salvation  be  required  as  the  conditions  of 
admission  to  the  Church,  and  discipline  be 
duly  enforced,  then  will  the  visible  Church 
be  made  as  pure  and  spiritual  as  is  possible 
here  on  earth,  and  then  only  will  the  Church 
be  a  "congregation  of  faithful  men." 

The  Christian  ministry  is  a  divine  vocation 
in  that  only  those  may  enter  it  who  are  di- 
vinely called  thereto.  We  believe  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  chooses  those  whom  he  would 
have  to  preach,  and  indicates  his  choice  of 
them  by  making  an  inward  impression  upon 
their  minds  as  to  their  duty  in  this  regard. 
But  the  Church  also  must  sit  in  judgment  on 
those  who  feel  called  to  preach,  and  thus  "try 


THE   DOCTRINES   OF    METHODISM. 

the  spirits  to  see  whether  they  be  of  God  or 
not."  The  Christian  ministry,  as  its  name 
indicates,  is  first  of  all  an  office  of  service. 
Ministers  are  servants  of  Christ  and  of  the 
Church.  The  most  important  function  of  the 
ministry  is  to  preach  the  word.  The  salvation 
of  sinners  and  the  edification  of  believers  de- 
pend upon  their  fidelity  to  this  part  of  their 
work.  If  the  "pure  word  of  God"  is  to  be 
preached,  the  ministry  must  be  educated  in  a 
right  understanding  and  interpretation  of  the 
Bible;  otherwise  false  and  fanatical  doctrines 
may  be  drawn  from  the  word  of  God  by  mis- 
interpretation and  unsound  exegesis. 

Methodism  recognizes  but  two  institutions 
of  the  Church  as  sacraments:  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  The  Church  retains  the  prim- 
itive and  apostolic  custom  of  baptizing  in- 
fants. While  it  is  the  rule  that  the  children 
only  of  Christian  parents  (or  guardians)  are 
presented  for  baptism,  yet  the  Church  teaches 
that  the  right  of  a  child  to  Christian  baptism 
grows  out  of  his  own  relation  to  Christ,  rath- 
er than  that  of  his  parent  or  guardian.  As 
to  the  mode  of  baptism,  Methodism  favors 
pouring  or  sprinkling  as  more  simple  and 
symbolic  of  the  "washing  of  regeneration," 
but  allows  perfect  liberty  on  the  part  of  adult 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE   CHURCH. 

applicants  for  Church  membership  to  choose 
either  of  these  modes  or  immersion.  The 
Lord's  Supper  is  regarded  as  a  memorial  serv- 
ice and  a  means  of  grace  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary sanctity.  It  is  the  privilege  and  duty  of 
every  member  of  the  Church  to  partake  regu- 
larly of  this  sacrament  as  opportunity  offers. 
If  our  doctrine  of  the  Church  be  true,  every 
branch  of  the  Christian  Church  is  free  to  de- 
termine its  own  polity  or  form  of  govern- 
ment. The  value  of  each  can  be  tested  only 
by  time  and  experience.  The  polity  of  Meth- 
odism has  been  on  trial  for  about  a  century 
and  a  half;  and  that  of  Episcopal  Methodism 
for  a  little  over  a  century,  during  which  time 
it  has  been  constantly  undergoing  modifica- 
tions and  adaptations  to  new  conditions  as  its 
growth  and  ever- widening  mission  seemed  to 
demand.  Judged  by  its  history  in  the  past 
and  its  efficiency  and  rapid  growth  at  the 
present  time,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  has  ever  devised  a  more 
scriptural  and  efficient  form  of  government 
than  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South.  It  behooves  every  student  of  Christian 
doctrines  to  give  it  a  careful  examination. 


SECTION  THREE. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH. 


BY  BISHOP  JAMES  ATKINS,  D.D. 

(119) 


X. 

THE  GENERAL  RULES. 

THE  Church  of  Christ  is  an  aristocracy  of 
virtue.  It  is  the  only  one  which  has  serious- 
ly and  successfully  battled  for  a  place  among 
men.  Truly  it  is  a  kingdom  of  grace,  but  the 
only  end  of  that  grace  is  holiness  of  character 
and  life.  Tender  and  all-giving  as  Jesus  was 
in  his  attitude  toward  penitent  men,  nothing 
can  exceed  his  burning  candor  in  laying  down 
the  conditions  of  discipleship.  These  condi- 
tions would  be  indeed  harsh  if  the  power  of 
execution  were  not  furnished  from  above. 
But  by  the  divine  reenforcement  all  things 
are  possible,  and  most  moral  achievements 
easy,  to  men  who  believe.  A  life  of  self-de- 
nial is  the  natural  order  for  one  in  whom  the 
supreme  act  and  purpose  of  self-abnegation 
have  gone  before,  and  a  life  of  heroic  moral 
doings  is  easy  to  a  man  who  is  moved  upon  by 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  moral  code  of  Methodism  is  contained 
in  what  are  called  the  General  Rules.  These 
rules  have  thrown  their  gracious,  helpful  do- 
minion over  many  millions  who  in  these  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  our  his- 

(121) 


OUR    POLITY. 

tory  have  gone  from  the  self-denials  and  la- 
bors of  this  life  into  the  rewards  of  another. 
There  are  now  about  seven  millions  within 
the  Methodist  fold  who  are  confessedly  walk- 
ing by  the  same  rules. 

The  only  condition  required  of  those  who 
seek  membership  in  our  Church  is  "a  desire  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  to  be  saved 
from  their  sins." 

This  surely  is  broad  enough,  and  yet  when 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  Rules  it  leaves 
nothing  to  be  added.  It  certainly  excludes  all 
who  have  a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come  and  to  be  saved  in  their  sins. 

Those  who  have  this  desire  to  be  saved 
from  wrath  and  sin  will,  if  the  desire  be  gen- 
uine, give  evidence  of  it  in  three  ways: 

First,  by  doing  no  harm — that  is,  avoiding 
evil  of  every  kind. 

Secondly,  by  doing  good  to  loth  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  men. 

Thirdly,  by  attending  upon  the  ordinances 
of  God. 

THE  THINGS  FORBIDDEN. 

Taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain. 

This  includes: 

(1)  Profane  swearing  and  all  forms  of  curs- 


THE   GENERAL  RULES.  J23 

ing,  especially  such  as  involve  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  Deity.  There  is  much  sinful 
swearing  which  does  not  contain  the  name  of 
God,  but  implies  it.  He  who  curses  his  fel- 
low-man, with  or  without  the  mention  of 
God's  name,  assumes  a  place  of  judgment 
which  belongs  to  God  only. 

(2)  Perjury,  or  intentionally  false  swear- 
ing, in  which  God  is   called  to  witness  to 
the  truth  of  what  is  false.     This   indicates 
the  utmost  baseness  of   character,   and  the 
penalties  of  the  civil  law  against  it  are  justly 
severe. 

(3)  All  sacrilegious  and  other  vain  or  light 
uses  of  the  name  of  God. 

(4)  All    idle    swearing,    which    long   ago 
Chaucer    pronounced    a     "crudeness,"    and 
which  is  now,  and  must  ever  remain  at  the 
least,  an  act  of  incivility,  and  lead  the  way  to 
more  serious  and  more  hurtful  forms  of  the 
offense. 

The  name  of  God  stands  for  his  character, 
and  therefore  the  breaking  of  the  third  com- 
mandment is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  and 
debasing  of  sins. 

Profaning  the  day  of  the  Lord,  either  by 
doing  ordinary  work  therein,  or  by  buying  or 
selling. 


124  OUR   POLITY. 

The  three  great  doctrines  taught  by  the 
Sabbath  as  we  now  have  it  are: 

(1)  That  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things; 

(2)  that  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead;  and 

(3)  that  all  our  time  belongs  to  God. 

"The  Sabbath,  in  its  spiritual  aspect  and 
meaning,  is  one  of  the  strongest  defenses  of 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  and  of  the  divin- 
ity of  the  religion  which  it  reveals.  It  is 
man's  day  and  God's  day;  more  thoroughly 
man's  day  because  completely  God's  day. 
It  is  their  united  time,  time  of  fellowship, 
hour  of  communion,  opportunity  for  deeper 
reading,  larger  prayer,  and  diviner  consecra- 
tion." (Joseph  Parker.) 

Christianity  has  no  more  important  institu- 
tion than  the  Holy  Sabbath.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  overestimate  the  value  of  the  day 
both  to  individuals  and  to  communities.  The 
demand  for  it  is  laid  in  the  physical  constitu- 
tion of  man  and  the  laboring  animals.  Not 
only  was  the  Sabbath  made  for  man,  but  man 
was  made  with  reference  to  a  Sabbath,  so  that 
in  this  regard,  as  well  as  in  other  things,  it  is 
to  the  best  interests  of  man  in  his  present 
state  to  obey  God's  commands.  Such  a  rest 
is  necessary  to  the  highest  sanity  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  community,  and  hence  it  is 


THE    GENERAL    RULES.  125 

that  the  Sabbath  is  one  of  the  greatest  safe- 
guards of  personal  and  national  life.  It 
therefore  becomes  the  duty  not  only  of  every 
true  religionist  and  philanthropist,  but  of 
every  true  patriot,  to  advance  by  all  means  a 
proper  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  day. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  divine  institu- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  it  was  made  a  day  of 
rest,  not  of  recreation.  One  of  the  worst 
evils  of  modern  times  is  the  habit  of  using 
the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  recreation,  and  even 
of  dissipation.  It  behooves  all  the  teaching 
agencies  of  Christendom  to  set  themselves 
against  this  pernicious  drift  by  teaching  in 
the  home,  the  day  school,  the  Sunday  school, 
and  the  church  how  rightly  to  use  the  holy 
Sabbath. 

Jesus  said  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath;  and  in  say- 
ing this  he  was  breaking  from  off  the  Sab- 
bath those  burdensome  conditions  which  the 
traditions  of  the  Jews  had  placed  upon  it. 
The  divine  Sabbath  had  been  so  obscured  by 
them  as  to  be  wholly  lost  sight  of.  The  re- 
ligious teachers  who  were  objecting  to  Christ's 
use  of  the  Sabbath  for  works  of  mercy  were 
teaching  the  people  that  a  man  should  not  wear 
.shoes  with  tacks  in  them  on  the  Sabbath, 


126  OUR   POLITT. 

lest  the  grass  should  be  thereby  crushed, 
and  thus  amount  to  a  sort  of  mowing;  and 
that  a  tailor  should  not  place  a  needle  in 
his  coat  late  in  the  day  before  the  Sabbath, 
lest  he  should  forget  and  leave  it  there,  and 
thus  bear  a  burden  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
These  are  but  samples  of  much  foolishness 
which  was  in  vogue  in  that  day,  and  which 
perverted  God's  day  so  as  to  make  it  a  burden 
instead  of  a  blessing.  Now  Christ,  instead  of 
abrogating  the  Sabbath  or  implying  that  it 
was  to  be  used  for  recreation,  was  but  re- 
storing it  to  its  original  place  as  a  day  of  rest 
and  religious  improvement. 

It  seems  that  there  were  in  the  days  of 
Isaiah  some  who  took  the  recreation  view  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  the  words  of  the  greatest  of 
the  old  prophets  are  sufficient  to  fully  cover 
the  case  now.  God,  speaking  through  him, 
says:  "If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the 
sabbath,  from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy 
day;  and  call  the  sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of 
the  Lord,  honorable;  and  shalt  honor  him,  not 
doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine  own 
pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words:  then 
shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord;  and  I 
will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of 
the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with  the  heritage  of 


THE    GENERAL   RULES.  127 

Jacob  thy  father:  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hpth  spoken  it."  (Isa.  Iviii.  13,  14.) 

Let  it  be  noted  that  the  command  to  work 
on  the  other  six  days  is  as  explicit  and  as  bind- 
ing as  that  which  requires  us  to  rest  on  the 
seventh. 

Drunkenness,  or  drinking  spirituous  liquors 
unless  in  cases  of  necessity.  The  Methodists 
from  the  beginning  have  been  a  temperance 
people,  and  they  are  still  such,  not  in  theory 
only  but  in  practice.  The  American  Metho- 
dists constitute,  perhaps,  the  strongest  single 
phalanx  in  the  nation  against  this  mammoth 
evil.  But  there  needs  to  be  the  most  thor- 
ough and  constant  teaching  on  this  subject,  in 
order  that  no  generation  of  our  young  people 
shall  be  liable  to  repeat  the  folly  and  sin  of 
drinking  for  lack  of  information.  There  is 
no  sphere  in  which  it  is  truer  that  eternal 
vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty. 

Intemperance  is  the  costliest  and  most  de- 
structive sin  of  mankind.  It  is  this  in  itself, 
and  in  addition  it  leads  in  very  many  cases  to 
every  other  form  of  sin.  It  is  the  mother  of 
crimes.  Intoxicants,  even  when  used  under 
the  rule  in  "cases  of  necessity,"  ought  to  be 
used  with  the  utmost  caution  and  under  the 
restraints  of  an  enlightened  conscience.  The 


128  OUR    POLITY. 

story  of  the  man  who  was  bitten  by  a  snake 
and  was  given  whisky  for  it,  though  not  new, 
is  exact  and  apt.  The  bite  got  well,  and  in 
due  time  the  snake  died,  but  twenty  years 
later  the  man  was  still  taking  the  medicine. 

All  in  all,  total  abstinence  is  the  best  rule, 
because  the  only  one  that  is  absolutely  safe. 

(a)  Fighting,  quarreling,  brawling;  (b) 
brother  going  to  law  with  brother;  (c)  return- 
ing evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing;  (d) 
the  using  many  words  in  buying  or  selling. 

(a)  These  things  are  but  little  less  than 
barbarous,  and  are  wholly  out  of  harmony  with 
that  spirit  of  fraternity  which  is  ever  a  mark 
of  the  truly  regenerate  man. 

(5)  As  a  rule,  litigation  even  for  righteous 
claims  is  harmful  to  one's  relations  and  influ- 
ence. In  most  cases  it  is  better  both  morally 
and  financially  to  pay  a  lawyer  to  keep  you 
out  of  the  courts  than  to  take  you  through 
them. 

(c)  "Evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing," 
embodies  the  spirit  of  the  old  order  of  ' '  an 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  which 
Christ  distinctly  condemned. 

(d)  "Let  your  communication   be,    Yea, 
yea;  Nay,  nay:  for  whatsoever  is  more  than 
these  cometh  of  evil."    Talk  straight  to  the 


THE    GENERAL    RULES.  129 

point,  and  when  you  have  done  turn  to  some- 
thing else. 

The  buying  or  selling  goods  that  have  not 
paid  the  duty. 

The  days  in  which  these  rules  originated 
were  days  of  much  smuggling.  The  govern- 
ment was  being  constantly  defrauded  by  ship- 
pers and  merchants  who  in  various  ways  were 
avoiding  the  payment  of  the  lawful  duties. 
This  was  simply  stealing  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  those  who  knowingly  took  part  in 
the  benefits  were  partners  with  the  thieves. 
Of  course  no  truly  Christian  man  could  do 
such  a  thing.  The  principle  involved  still 
abides. 

The  tariff  may  be  right  or  it  may  be  wrong; 
but  in  either  event  the  man  who  knowingly 
deals  in  goods  which  have  not  paid  it  is  cer- 
tainly wrong. 

There  is  a  very  loose  notion  abroad  as  to 
the  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  individual  to 
deal  fairly  and  justly  with  the  government 
and  with  corporations.  An  honesty  which 
does  not  deport  itself  with  exact  righteous- 
ness in  relation  to  both  is  not  worthy  of  the 
name. 

The  giving  or  taking  things  on  usury,  i.  e. , 
unlawful  interest. 
0 


130  OUR  POLITY. 

The  word  "usury"  is  from  the  Latin  word 
usus,  which  in  this  connection  means  "so 
much  for  the  use  of" — that  is,  any  interest 
whatever.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  the  word 
is  used  in  the  Bible.  It  retained  this  sense 
until  within  the  last  three  centuries.  The 
Jews  were  forbidden  by  the  law  to  take  any 
interest  from  each  other  for  the  use  of  money 
or  other  commodities.  Hence  under  their 
law  any  interest  was  usury.  Usury  now 
means  unlawful  interest — that  is,  interest  at 
a  higher  rate  than  that  provided  for  in  the 
law  of  the  State  within  which  the  business  is 
transacted.  The  terms  "giving"  and  "tak- 
ing" seem  to  include  him  who  borrows  at  un- 
lawful interest  as  well  as  him  who  lends.  It 
must,  nevertheless,  be  allowed  that  the  two 
cases  are  quite  different  as  to  the  moral  ele- 
ment involved. 

Uncharitable  or  unprofitable  conversation, 
particularly  speaking  evil  of  magistrates  or  of 
ministers. 

This  is  an  exceedingly  important  rule.  The 
power  of  speech  is  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  dangerous  dignities  conferred  upon 
man.  "Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh."  Purity  of  speech  is 
one  of  the  highest  signs  of  a  noble  and  re- 


THE    GENERAL   RULES. 

fined  nature.  Coarseness  and  baseness  of 
speech  can  come  from  but  one  source.  Men 
do  not  often  make  mistakes  in  their  esti- 
mate of  it.  The  crudest  men  know  that  low- 
ness  of  speech  is  unbecoming  the  children  of 
God. 

Uncharitable  speech  indicates  a  harsh  and 
uncharitable  mood,  if  not  a  fixed  disposition. 
It  always  inflicts  two  injuries,  one  upon  the 
victim  of  it  and  the  other  upon  the  author. 
Charity  even  toward  one's  enemies  is  one  of 
the  strongest  pledges  of  trueness  toward  one's 
friends.  Uncharitable  talk  when  once  begun 
knows  no  limits.  It  is  like  a  fire  in  a  field, 
which  does  not  burn  according  to  metes  and 
bounds,  but  by  its  own  heat  and  the  material  it 
finds  in  all  directions  to  feed  upon. 

The  unprofitable  conversation  referred  to  in 
the  rule  means  light  and  trashy  talk,  such  as 
is  common  among  gossips  and  gabblers,  and  to 
which  young  people  are  especially  liable  if 
not  rightly  guarded  against  it.  The  unfur- 
nished mind  finds  it  much  easier  to  prate  about 
things  of  no  value  than  to  prepare  for  season- 
able and  profitable  talk.  But  unprofitable 
conversation  also  includes  more  serious  and 
thoughtful  talk  which  lacks  a  pure  and 
helpful  purpose.  This  is  even  more  to  be 


132  °UR    POLITY. 

avoided  than  idle  and  meaningless  conversa- 
tion. - 

Speaking  evil  of  rulers  and  ministers  is  a 
very  common  fault.  It  seems  to  be  assumed 
by  many  that  any  exaltation  in  office  implies 
the  right  of  the  people  to  make  a  sort  of  tar- 
get of  the  man  thus  exalted.  Nothing  is  far- 
ther from  the  truth.  Such  men  deserve  the 
sympathy  and  the  support  of  those  whom 
they  represent  in  so  far  as  these  can  be  con- 
scientiously given.  All  faithful  men  occupy- 
ing places  of  trust  and  power  realize  that  the 
higher  they  go  as  men  reckon  height,  the 
heavier  their  responsibilities  become  and  the 
more  burdensome  their  duties.  Men,  wheth- 
er magistrates  or  ministers,  who  serve  the 
people  faithfully  have  a  right  to  the  moral 
support  of  the  public.  To  discount  this  by 
evil-speaking  is  a  wrong  to  the  men  and  often- 
times a  crime  against  the  civil  or  religious  in- 
terests which  such  men  are  set  to  serve. 

If  rulers  or  ministers  are  either  incompe- 
tent [or  unfaithful,  let  a  change  be  made  in 
a  constitutional  way.  Evil-speaking  corrects 
nothing. 

In  general,  the  habit  of  reckless  criticism 
within  the  household  needs  to  be  most  careful- 
ly guarded  against.  Much  infidelity  is  bred 


THE   GENERAL  HULES.  133 

in  children  by  indiscriminate  and  indiscreet 
criticism  of  the  preacher  and  the  preaching. 
Whoever  destroys  in  himself  or  another  a 
genuine  reverence  for  superiors  in  years,  in 
attainments,  in  position  rightly  used,  is  fool- 
ishly cutting  from  above  him  the  rounds  of 
the  ladder  by  which  he  would  rise  to  higher 
things.  A  true  reverence,  especially  in  young 
people,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
charming  of  virtues,  and  is  the  spring  of  un- 
numbered blessings  to  society.  It  is  the  very 
chivalry  of  man's  moral  nature,  and  adorns 
every  stage  of  life  as  nothing  else  can  do. 

Doing  to  others  as  we  would  not  they  should 
do  unto  us. 

This  is  merely  the  negative  statement  of 
the  golden  rule,  and  includes  all  forms  of  in- 
jury to  our  fellow-men. 

Doing  what  we  know  is  not  for  the  glory  of 
God:  as. 

The  putting  on  of  gold  and  costly  apparel. 

A  display  of  extravagant  and  vainglorious 
finery  is  always  unbecoming  in  the  children 
of  God.  This  is  no  doubt  the  spirit  aimed  at 
in  this  rule.  Any  such  interpretation  of  it  as 
would  lead  the  Church  to  regulate  the  per- 
sonal habits  of  its  members  in  regard  to  their 
attire  has  long  since  ceased.  It  is,  neverthe' 


134  OtTR   POLITY. 

less,  well  for  all  to  have  due  regard  to  situa- 
tion and  ability  in  their  dressing.  The  use  of 
jewelry  or  fine  clothing  to  the  exclusion  of  a 
liberal  part  in  the  benevolent  movements  of 
the  Church  is  wrong  beyond  question,  and 
shows  a  low  and  selfish  disregard  of  the 
claims  of  others  for  the  necessities  of  life  and 
for  mental  and  spiritual  enlightenment.  It 
indicates  a  spirit  which  is  far  from  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  "If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." 

The  taking  such  diversions  as  ca/nnot  be  used 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

The  language  of  this  rule  clearly  implies 
that  there  are  diversions  which  may  be  taken 
without  injury.  Diversions  which  are  not  in 
themselves  harmful  to  health  or  character, 
when  not  used  to  excess  so  as  to  become  a 
waste  of  time  or  a  dissipation,  may  be  used 
with  profit. 

What  those  diversions  are  is  left  to  the 
intelligence  and  conscience  of  the  individual 
believer,  except  as  to  those  which  have  been 
commonly  condemned  by  men  as  evil,  or  have 
been  pronounced  against  by  the  authorities  of 
our  Church .  These  prohibited  amusements  are 
dancing,  card-playing,  theater-going,  attend- 
ance upon  race  courses^  circuses ,  and  the  like. 


fHE    GENERAL   RULES. 

Chief  among  these  offenses  is  the  modern 
dance.  The  bishops,  in  their  address  to  the 
General  Conference  of  1874,  speak  on  the 
point  as  follows:  "An  explicit  utterance  was 
given  by  order  of  the  last  General  Confer- 
ence, in  our  pastoral  address,  on  'Worldly 
Amusements.'  We  now  repeat  that  utter- 
ance. We  abate  none  of  its  teachings  with 
respect  either  to  manifest  inconsistency  of 
such  indulgences  with  the  spirit  and  profession 
of  the  gospel,  or  the  perils  which  they  bring 
to  the  souls  of  men.  .  .  .  Among  these 
indulgences  ...  is  the  modern  dance, 
both  in  its  private  and  public  exhibition,  as 
utterly  opposed  to  the  genius  of  Christianity 
as  taught  by  us." 

The  General  Conference  of  1890  appointed 
a  special  committee  of  fifteen  to  prepare  an 
address  on  the  spiritual  state  of  the  Church. 
The  report  of  this  committee  was  adopted  by 
the  General  Conference  and  published  in  the 
Discipline  of  that  year.  In  that  report  is 
found  the  following  language: 

"In  this  same  condemnation,  as  equally 
contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  which  declare  that 
'the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  against 
God,'  to  our  General  Rules,  and  to  the  vows 
which  our  members  have  voluntarily  assumed, 


136  OUR   POLITY. 

this  General  Conference  would  include  card 
playing,  theater-going,  attendance  upon  race 
courses,  circuses,  and  the  like.     These  offenses 
are  likewise  justifiable  grounds  of  discipline." 

The  General  Conference,  having  adopted 
this  report,  took  the  following  action: 

"Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  the  deliver- 
ances of  our  bishops,  as  contained  in  their 
quadrennial  addresses  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence from  time  to  time,  and  as  quoted  at 
length  by  the  Special  Committee  of  Fifteen, 
have  declared  dancing,  theater-going,  card- 
playing,  and  the  like  worldly  indulgences,  to 
be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and 
violative  of  the  General  Rules  and  moral  dis- 
cipline of  our  Church,  as  also  of  the  vows 
of  our  Church  members;  we  therefore  heart- 
ily indorse  the  aforesaid  deliverances  as  con- 
taining the  just  and  correct  interpretation  of 
the  law  in  the  premises,  and  as  such  this 
General  Conference  accepts  the  same  as  hay- 
ing equal  force  and  authority  as  if  contained 
in  the  body  of  the  Discipline."  (1497,  Dis- 
cipline of  1890.) 

These  utterances  and  acts  put  the  position 
of  our  Church  on  these  diversions  beyond 
question.  In  this  regard  the  Methodist 
Church  articulates  and  authoritatively  states 


THE    GENERAL   RULES. 

what  all  the  leading  Churches  hold.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  of  the  modern  dance,  which, 
though  practiced  by  many  Church  members 
in  the  various  denominations  and  is  even  con- 
nived at  by  some  communions,  is  approved 
by  no  Church  in  Christendom,  and  is  severe- 
ly condemned  by  most. 

A  consensus  of  religious  opinion  running 
through  many  ages  of  trial  and  embracing 
many  peoples  touching  the  injurious  nature  of 
any  practice  is  itself  an  almost  unanswerable 
argument  against  such  practice.  But  a  care- 
ful examination  into  the  data  upon  which  the 
Church  has  made  up  and  holds  its  estimate  of 
the  dance  will  furnish  ample  proofs  to  every 
age  that  the  practice  is  thoroughly  carnal, 
wars  against  spiritual  interests,  and  brings 
much  detriment  to  the  spiritual  life  of  many 
who  engage  in  it. 

But  let  it  be  noted  that  a  wise  administra- 
tion of  discipline  in  regard  to  these  things 
will  never  be  harsh.  It  is  sometimes  very 
difficult  for  young  persons  to  see  in  these  di- 
versions what  the  Church  sees.  While  all 
sane  young  persons  can  see  that  a  vow  delib- 
erately made  and  deliberately  and  habitually 
broken  involves  sin,  it  is  still  best  to  ree'n- 
force  them  with  such  knowledge  of  the  in- 


1.38  OUB   POLITY. 

herent  or  incidental  evil  of  these  practices  as 
will  make  them  both  clear  and  strong  in  their 
own  views  against  them.  A  wise  discipline 
will,  therefore,  always  be  by  instruction,  by 
patience,  and  in  the  main  by  persuasion. 

TJie  singing  those  songs,  or  reading  those 
fooks,  which  do  not  tend  to  the  knowledge  or 
love  of  God. 

The  songs  and  books  of  a  people  are  the 
mightiest  factors  in  determining  of  what  char- 
acter a  people  shall  be.  Singing  and  reading 
are,  therefore,  suitable  subjects  for  advisory 
rules  on  the  part  of  the  Church  which  would 
bring  its  members  to  the  highest  and  best. 
This  rule  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  sing 
no  songs  or  read  no  books  except  such  as  are 
distinctly  religious  in  character,  but  rather 
that  we  shall  avoid  all  such  as  are  pernicious 
or  empty  of  substantial  good.  In  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's time  there  was  very  little  that  was 
wholesome  and  edifying  in  the  literature  of 
the  day,  and  much  that  was  bad,  and  he  did  a 
truly  great  work  in  expunging,  recasting, 
and  making  books  for  his  people  to  read. 
There  is  now  no  more  important  interest  for 
parents  and  religious  teachers  to  look  after. 
Many  a  young  person  has  been  ruined  by 
making  a  companion  of  one  bad  book. 


THE   GENERAL  RULES. 

Softness  or  needless  self -indulgence. 

There  is  no  room  for  a  lazy  man  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  A  self-indulgent  and  ease- 
seeking  person  cannot  fairly  claim  to  be  a 
follower  of  our  Lord,  who  himself  came  not 
to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister,  and  who 
went  about  doing  good.  The  servant  is  not 
above  his  Lord.  It  is  every  man's  duty  to  be 
diligent,  not  only  in  spiritual  concerns  but 
also  in  temporal  affairs.  No  amount  of 
wealth  or  opportunity  for  ease  can  free  a  man 
from  the  obligation  to  pursue  with  alacrity 
some  chosen  field  of  service. 

Laying  up  treasure  upon  earth. 

Mr.  Wesley  in  one  of  his  sermons  gives 
three  great  mottoes  on  this  subject:  (1)  Make 
all  you  can.  (2)  Save  all  you  can.  (3)  Give 
all  you  can.  Make  all  you  can  consistently 
with  perfect  integrity  and  the  rights  of  oth- 
ers. Save  all  you  can — that  is,  waste  noth- 
ing. Give  all  you  can  consistently  with  your 
plain  obligations.  Mr.  Wesley  himself  made 
much,  wasted  nothing,  gave  everything.  Had 
he  been  a  man  of  family,  he  probably  could 
not  have  made  so  much,  wasted  so  little,  or 
given  all.  Nevertheless,  he  preached  the 
right  doctrine  and  gave  the  right  example 
concerning  earthly  treasures.  Some  wag  has 


OUR   POLITY. 

said  pithily  at  least  that  the  maxim  which 
governs  the  business  world  of  to-day  is: 
"Make  all  you  can,  and  can  all  you  make." 
Perhaps  no  desire  is  more  universal  and  more 
hurtful  to  spiritual  life  than  the  desire  to  lay 
up  treasure  upon  earth.  The  Church  is  by 
no  means  free  from  it,  and  there  is  much 
need  of  sound  teaching  in  order  that  our  peo- 
ple may  be  saved  from  an  inordinate  love  of 
the  world. 

Sorrowing  without  a  probability  of  paying r, 
or  taking  up  goods  without  a  probability  of 
paying  for  them. 

This  is  virtually  obtaining  money  or  goods 
under  false  pretenses,  which  is  a  misdemean- 
or under  the  laws  of  many,  perhaps  most,  of 
the  States.  Thoroughgoing  honesty  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  fruits  of  the  gospel,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  charming  traits  in  Church 
members  as  they  are  looked  upon  by  the  eyes 
of  the  world.  There  are  honest  pagans; 
shall  any  Christian  be  less? 

The  next  section  of  the  Rules,  on  doing  good, 
is  given  so  clearly  and  in  such  detail  as  to  need 
no  comment.  It  is  as  follows: 

It  is  expected  of  all  who  continue  in  these  so- 
cieties that  they  should  continue  to  evidence 
their  desire  of  salvation^ 


THE   GENERAL  RULES.  141 

Secondly,  by  doing  good,  by  being  in  every 
kind  merciful  after  their  power,  as  they  have 
opportunity,  doing  good  of  every  possible  sort, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  all  men: 

To  their  bodies,  of  the  ability  which  Godgiv- 
eth,  by  giving  food  to  the  hungry,  by  clothing 
(he  naked,  by  visiting  or  helping  tJiem  that  are 
sick  or  in  prison  j 

To  their  souls,  by  instructing,  reproving,  or 
exhorting  all  we  have  any  intercourse  with; 
trampling  underfoot  that  enthusiastic  doctrine 
that  "we  are  not  to  do  good  unless  our  hearts 
be  free  to  it." 

By  doing  good,  especially  to  them  that  are  of 
tlie  household  of  faith,  or  groaning  so  to  be; 
employing  them  preferably  to  others,  buying  one 
of  another,  helping  each  other  in  business;  and 
so  much  the  more  because  the  world  will  love  its 
own,  and  them  only. 

By  all  possible  diligence  and  frugality ,  that 
the  gospel  be  not  blamed. 

By  running  with  patience  tfie  race  which  is 
set  before  them,  denying  themselves,  and  taking 
up  their  cross  daily;  submitting  to  bear  the  re- 
proach of  Christ,  to  be  as  the  filth  and  qffscour- 
ing  of  the  world,  and  looking  that  men  should 
say  all  manner  of  evil  of  them  falsely  for  the 
Lord^s  sake. 


142  OUR    POLITY. 

It  is  expected  of  all  who  desire  to  continue  in 
these  societies  that  they  should  continue  to  evi- 
dence tlielr  desire  of  salvation, 

Thirdly,  by  attending  upon  all  the  ordinances 
of  God;  such  are, 

The  public  worship  of  God. 

There  is  much  strength  in  fellowship,  no 
matter  what  the  issue;  especially  is  this  the 
case  in  spiritual  things.  No  man  is  so  strong 
as  not  to  need  the  ree'nf  orcement  which  comes 
from  communion  with  those  of  like  mind  and 
heart.  The  doctrines  of  the  Fatherhood  of 
God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  stand  very 
close  together.  He  who  has  lost  his  sense  of 
fellowship  would  do  well  to  look  closely  into 
i\\Q  foundations  of  his  faith.  The  great  de- 
fection of  Thomas  against  his  Lord  was  due  to 
his  being  absent  from  the  first  prayer  meeting 
after  the  resurrection.  "Forsake  not  the  as- 
sembling of  yourselves  together,  as  the  man- 
ner of  some  is."  When  the  Pentecost  came, 
the  disciples  were  of  one  accord  in  one  place. 
The  divine  presence  is  promised  to  the  assem- 
blies of  the  saints. 

The  ministry  of  the  word,  either  read  or  ex- 
pounded. 

Jesus  ordained  that  the  world  should  be 
saved  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  There 


THE   GENERAL  BULKS.  143 

is  no  substitute  for  preaching.  It  has  regu- 
lated the  ethical  state  of  men  through  the  ages 
more  than  any  other  influence,  and  will  prob- 
ably continue  to  do  so  to  the  end. 

Paul  asks:  "  How  can  they  hear  without  a 
preacher '? "  It  may  also  be  asked:  "How  can 
he  preach  without  hearers  ? "  It  is  the  plain 
duty  of  every  member  who  can  to  attend  regu- 
larly upon  the  ministry  of  the  word,  and  espe- 
cially upon  that  of  his  own  Church.  All  the 
good  ends  of  good  preaching  are  helped  by 
good  hearing. 

The  Supper  of  the  Lord. 

Our  Lord,  who  while  living  made  himself 
of  no  reputation,  left  of  himself  when  depart- 
ing no  monument  except  that  he  made  of  the 
perishable  elements,  bread  and  wine,  a  remem- 
brancer. Even  this  is  conditioned  upon  love 
and  faith  upon  the  part  of  those  who  eat  and 
drink.  He  did  not  designate  a  place,  a  time, 
or  a  quantity.  He  said  in  substance:  Do  this 
as  oft  as  ye  shall  do  it  in  remembrance  of  me. 
The  use  of  this  holy  sacrament  is  both  a  privi- 
lege and  a  duty.  Many  have  been  deterred 
from  it  by  foolish  and  superstitious  conceits. 
He  eats  and  drinks  worthily  who  eats  and 
drinks  with  faith,  and,  it  might  be  added, 
with  a  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness, 


144  OUR   POLITY. 

It  i«j  the  place  of  the  stewards  in  each  charge 
to  procure  and  arrange  the  elements  for  the 
sacrament.  This  should  always  be  attended 
to  in  a  becoming  way.  In  some  places  there 
is  much  neglect.  A  neat  pitcher,  however 
cheap,  is  better  than  the  bottle  which  some- 
times appears.  There  is  no  occasion  in  con- 
nection with  which  there  is  more  reason  that 
all  the  proprieties  should  be  carefully  ob- 
served. 

Family  and  private  prayer. 

There  can  be  no  spiritual  life  without  prayer. 
It  is  'She  Christian's  vital  breath. "  The  neg- 
lect of  it  is  always  followed  by  religious  de- 
cline. The  great  movements  of  the  Church 
can  be  marked  by  the  presence  of  men  and 
women  who  were  mighty  in  prayer — princes 
who  prevailed  with  God. 

The  family  altar  is  the  birthplace  of  rev- 
erence and  devotion  as  is  no  other  place  on 
earth.  Parents  who  allow  their  children  to  go 
into  the  severe  ordeals  of  life  without  its  hal- 
lowed memories  and  fruits  commit  a  great 
wrong  against  their  offspring. 

Searching  the  Scriptures. 

One  might  as  well  expect  to  become  a  great 
lawyer  without  studying  the  common  law  or 
the  statutes  of  his  State  as  to  become  a  robust 


TUB   GENERAL  EULES.  145 

Christian  without  a  thorough  knowledge  and 
frequent  reading  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  he  who  fights  sin 
in  himself  and  others  must  know  and  constant- 
ly use  it.  The  tendency  to  turn  all  Scripture 
study  out  of  the  family  into  the  Sunday  school 
is  pernicious.  The  home  is  the  best  place  for 
readying  and  studying  God's  word. 

Fasting  or  abstinence. 

This  rule  has  fallen  very  much  into  disuse. 
It  is,  nevertheless,  an  important  one.  There 
are  occasions  in  religious  life  and  effort  for 
which  fasting  or  abstinence  is  an  almost  nec- 
essary preparation.  It  is  wholesome  for  the 
body,  quickens  the  mental  faculties,  tends  to  a 
sense  of  dependence  by  impressing  us  with  the 
perishable  nature  of  our  bodies  and  of  all  ter- 
restrial life,  leads  to  gratitude  for  material 
gifts,  and  in  many  ways  helps  toward  a  more 
spiritual  order  of  living. 
10 


XI. 

THE  COISTFEREISTCES  OF  METHODISM. 

The  assembly  name  of  Methodism  in  all  its 
branches  is  the  word  "Conference."  The 
spirit  and  purpose  of  Methodist  assemblies  is 
very  well  conveyed  by  this  term,  which  means 
a  meeting  together  in  order  to  confer  touch- 
ing all  the  persons  and  interests  which  lie 
within  the  domain  of  the  Conference. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
has  five  kinds  of  Conference :  Church,  Quarter- 
ly, District,  Annual,  General. 

1.  The  Church  Conference  is  composed  of 
all  the  members  of  the  local  Church  and  resi 
dent  members  of  the  Annual  Conference. 
The  pastor  is  the  chairman.  A  secretary  is 
elected  annually  by  the  body.  This  Confer- 
ence is  very  much  like  a  family  meeting  in 
which  all  the  interests  of  the  household  may 
be  freely  discussed  and  all  local  interests 
looked  after,  and  is  invaluable  in  quickening 
all  the  interests  of  the  Church. 

The  Church  Conference  is  directed  to  meet 
once  a  month  in  stations,  and  at  least  once 
every  three  months  at  each  appointment  on 
(146) 


THE   CONFERENCES  OF   METHODISM.  J4J 

circuits.  For  order  of  work  see  Discipline, 
191. 

#.  The  Quarterly  Conference.  —  This  body 
meets,  as  its  name  implies,  once  a  quarter,  or 
four  times  in  each  Conference  year.  It  is 
composed  of  all  the  traveling  and  local  preach- 
ers residing  within  the  circuit  or  station,  with 
the  exhorters,  stewards,  trustees,  and  class 
leaders  of  the  respective  circuits,  stations,  and 
missions,  together  with  the  superintendents  of 
Sunday  schools  who  are  male  members  of  the 
Church,  the  secretaries  of  Church  Confer- 
ences, and  the  presidents  of  Senior  Epworth 
Leagues,  when  eligible.  The  chairman  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference  is  the  presiding  elder 
or,  in  his  absence,  the  preacher  in  charge. 
For  order  of  work  see  Discipline,  ^  87. 

3.  The  District  Conference. — This  meeting 
is  held  once  a  year  in  each  district  at  such 
time  as  the  presiding  elder  may  appoint. 
The  District  Conference  is  composed  of  all 
the  preachers  in  the  district,  traveling  and 
local,  and  of  laymen,  the  number  of  whom 
and  the  mode  of  their  appointment  each  An- 
nual Conference  determines  for  itself.  The 
chairman  of  the  District  Conference  is  a 
bishop  or,  in  his  absence,  the  presiding  elder. 
For  order  of  work  see  Discipline,  1 72. 


148  OUB  POLITY. 

4..  The  Annual  Conference. — This  Confer- 
ence is  composed  of  all  the  traveling  preach- 
ers in  full  connection  with  it  and  four  lay  rep- 
resentatives from  each  district.  The  lay  mem- 
bers are  chosen  annually  by  the  District  Con- 
ference, and  participate  in  all  the  business  of 
the  Conference  except  such  as  involves  minis- 
terial character.  The  number  and  bounds  of 
the  Annual  Conferences  are  determined  by  the 
General  Conference.  The  time  of  each  meet- 
ing is  appointed  by  the  bishop  in  charge,  and 
the  place  is  fixed  by  the  Conference.  The 
President  of  the  Annual  Conference  is  one  of 
the  bishops  or,  in  his  absence,  a  member  of 
the  Conference  elected  by  ballot.  The  presi- 
dent thus  elected  discharges  all  the  duties  of 
a  bishop  except  that  of  ordination. 

This  is  by  far  the  most  important,  though 
not  the  highest  in  authority,  of  all  the  Con- 
ferences of  Methodism.  It  has  executive  su- 
pervision of  all  the  interests  of  the  Church 
within  its  prescribed  bounds,  such  as  furnish- 
ing the  people  with  the  gospel,  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions,  Church  extension,  Sunday 
schools,  Epworth  Leagues,  and  Christian 
education.  It  has  also  large  powers  of  initia- 
tion. Indeed,  much  of  our  General  Confer- 
ence legislation  originates  as  to  the  thought 


THE   CONFERENCES   OF   METHODISM.  149 

and  plan  within  one  or  more  of  the  Annual 
Conferences,  and  no  constitutional  matter 
passed  upon  by  the  General  Conference  can 
become  law  without  the  approval  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  members  of  all  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences. 

The  Annual  Conference  passes  at  each  ses- 
sion upon  the  personal  life  and  official  admin- 
istration of  every  preacher  who  is  a  member 
of  it.  The  method  adopted  in  this  is  as  open 
and  clear  as  possible.  The  name  of  each  man 
is  called  in  open  Conference  under  the  ques- 
tion, "Are  all  the  preachers  blameless  in  their 
life  and  official  administration  ? "  The  answer 
must  be  audible  and  without  ambiguity.  If 
a  negative  answer  be  given  by  anybody,  lay 
or  clerical,  the  law  provides  for  an  immediate 
investigation,  and  the  acquittal  of  the  accused 
or  the  imposition  of  proper  penalties,  the 
extremest  of  which  is  expulsion  from  the 
ministry  and  the  Church.  The  right  of  ap- 
peal belongs  to  every  member  who  is  con- 
victed of  any  crime.  That  appeal  is  to  the 
General  Conference  next  ensuing.  If  a  mem- 
ber be  tried  and  acquitted,  there  can  be  no  ap- 
peal: the  decision  of  the  Annual  Conference 
is  final.  The  Annual  Conference  has  the 
right  to  locate  one  of  its  members  for  ineffi- 


150  OUB   POLITY. 

ciency  or  imacceptability.  Such  action  does 
not  imply  anything  against  the  personal  char- 
acter of  the  one  so  dealt  with. 

We  have  forty-four  Annual  Conferences. 
Five  of  these  are  in  foreign  countries,  and 
one  lies  partly  in  Mexico  and  partly  in  the 
United  States. 

5.  The  General  Conference. — This  body  is 
composed  of  an  equal  number  of  traveling 
preachers  and  laymen,  elected  by  the  several 
Annual  Conferences.  The  maximum  and  min- 
imum ratios  of  representation  are  fixed  by  what 
is  called  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule.  Within 
the  limits  thus  fixed  the  General  Conference 
may  determine  from  time  to  time  such  ratios 
as  it  may  deem  advisable.  The  present  ratio 
is  one  clerical  member  for  every  forty-eight 
members  of  each  Annual  Conference,  and  an 
equal  number  of  lay  members.  The  latest 
General  Conference  (1906)  was  composed  of 
two  hundred  and  ninety-two  members. 

The  President  of  the  General  Conference 
is  one  of  the  bishops  or,  if  all  the  bishops 
should  be  absent  or  disabled,  a  member  of 
the  body  elected  by  ballot.  The  bishops  are 
not  members  of  the  General  Conference  oth- 
erwise than  as  Presidents  of  the  body  when 
in  session. 


THE   CONFERENCES   OF   METHODISM.  J5J 

The  General  Conference  is  the  only  legis- 
lative assembly  of  the  Church,  and  its  busi- 
ness is  largely  transacted  through  estab- 
lished committees,  very  much  as  in  other  leg- 
islative bodies.  The  standing  committees 
are  fourteen  in  number,  and  are  as  follows: 
Episcopacy,  Revisals,  Boundaries,  Itinerancy, 
Missions,  Sunday  Schools,  Epworth  League, 
Education,  Temperance,  Finance,  Church 
Extension,  Publishing  Interests,  Colportage, 
Appeals. 

The  General  Conference,  being  a  delegated 
body,  representative  of  the  whole  Church, 
has  power  to  do  whatever  it  deems  best  for  the 
interests  of  the  Church  within  the  limits  pre- 
scribed in  the  Six  Restrictive  Rules.  It  has 
power  also  to  alter  any  of  these  rules  except 
the  first,  which  relates  to  the  making  of  any 
change  in  our  Articles  of  Religion.  The 
method  prescribed  for  altering  any  of  the 
other  five  is  given  in  a  proviso  to  the  Sixth 
Rule.  It  provides  that  the  proposed  change 
shall  pass  the  General  Conference  by  a  two- 
thirds  majority,  and  then  be  ratified  by 
three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  sever- 
al Annual  Conferences  present  and  voting. 
Such  proposals  of  change  may  originate  with 
the  Annual  Conferences.  In  that  event  the 


152  OUB   POLITY. 

order  is  reversed,  and  a  three-fourths  vote 
in  the  Annual  Conferences  must  be  followed 
by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence. 

The  General  Conference  meets  once  in  four 
years  in  the  month  of  April  or  May,  and  at 
such  place  as  it  may  select. 

In  the  interim  of  the  General  Conferences 
the  work  prescribed  by  it  is  carried  forward 
under  the  direction  of  the  following 

GENERAL  BOARDS. 

(1)  The  Book  Committee,  which  has  full 
supervision  of    all  our  publishing  interests. 
and   to    which  all   connectional  officers  are 
amenable  for  their  official   conduct  till  the 
meeting   of  the  General  Conference.     This 
committee  is  composed  of  thirteen  members, 
six  clerical  and  seven  lay,  elected  by  the  Gen-, 
eral  Conference,  on  nomination  of  a  special 
committee  appointed  by  the  bishops.    It  elects 
its   own    chairman    and    secretary  quadren- 
nially. 

(2)  The  Board  of  Missions,  which  consists 
of   a    President,   Vice  President,    Secretary, 
Treasurer,  and  seventeen  managers,  elected 
by  the    General    Conference   quadrennially. 
The  bishops  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 


THE   CONFERENCES    OF   METHODISM. 

Church  Extension  are  ex  officio  members  of  the 
Board. 

The  Board  of  Managers  has  full  charge  of 
all  foreign  missionary  affairs,  such  as  the 
raising  of  funds  and  their  application,  the 
selection  of  candidates  for  the  work,  and  the 
supervision  of  all  the  interests  of  the  Church 
in  foreign  fields. 

This  Board  has  also  an  Assistant  Secretary, 
elected  by  the  Board  quadrennially. 

(3)  The  Sunday  School  Board.    ^This  Board 
consists  of  six  members,  five  elected   quad- 
rennially by  the  General  Conference,  and  the 
Sunday  School  Editor,  who  is  elected  quad- 
rennially by  the  General  Conference,  and  who 
is  ex  officio  chairman  of  the  Board.     To  this 
Board  belongs  the  general  management  of  all 
Sunday     school     interests     throughout     the 
Church. 

(4)  The  Ep worth  League  Board,  consisting 
of  thirteen  members,  six  clerical  and  six  lay 
and  one  of  the  bishops,  who  is  ex  officio  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board.    Besides  the  President  and 
General  Secretary,  who  is  elected  quadren- 
nially by  the  General  Conference,  the  other 
officers  are  three  Vice  Presidents  and  a  Treas- 
urer,  who  are  elected  quadrennially  by  the 
Board. 


154  OUR   POLITY. 

(5)  The  Board  of  Education,  which  is  com- 
posed of  fifteen   members,    elected    by    the 
General   Conference   on  nomination   of    the 
Committee  on  Education.     The  Board  elects 
its  own  President,  Vice  President,  and  Re- 
cording Secretary,  who  also  acts  as  Treasurer. 
The  Corresponding  Secretary,  known  as  the 
Secretary  of  Education,   is    elected   by   the 
General  Conference. 

It  is  the  duty  of  this  Board  to  supervise  all 
the  educational  interests  of  the  Church,  as 
provided  for  in  Chapter  XII.  of  the  Disci- 
pline. 

(6)  The  Board  of  Church  Extension,  which 
consists  of  a  President,  Vice  President,  Cor- 
responding  Secretary,    and  Treasurer,    and 
thirteen  members,  elected  quadrennially  by 
the  General  Conference,  and  continuing   in 
office  until  their  successors  are   elected  and 
accept.     The  bishops  and  Secretary  of  Board 
of  Missions  are  ex  officio  members  of  the 
Board.    For  a  full  statement  of  the  work  com- 
mitted to  this  Board  see  Discipline,  11386- 
399. 

All  these  Boards  meet  once  a  year,  usually 
in  the  month  of  May,  and  in  the  city  of  Nash- 
ville, except  the  Board  of  Church  Extension, 
which  meets  in  Louisville,  Ky. 


XII. 
THE  ITINERANCY. 

THE  Methodist  itinerancy  is  the  most  per- 
fectly organized  obedience  the  world  has 
yet  seen  to  the  great  commission:  "Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
9  very  creature." 

The  two  commands  of  the  commission  are 
to  go  and  to  preach. 

A  Church  which  was  the  chief  exponent  of 
that  phase  of  Arminian  theology  which  teach- 
es that  all  men  are  free  to  be  saved,  and  that 
nothing  stands  in  the  way  thereto  except  their 
own  agency,  could  not  logically  stop  short  of 
claiming  the  world  for  its  parish.  To  visit 
that  parish  with  the  gospel  was  the  great 
economic  problem  with  which  it  undertook 
to  deal  in  the  production  of  an  itinerant  plan 
for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

Every  one  entering  our  traveling  connec- 
tion solemnly  pledges  himself  to  go  any- 
where to  preach  the  gospel,  whither  the  ap- 
pointing power  may  send  him.  This  does  not 
mean  simply  anywhere  within  that  Annual 
Conference  with  which  he  connects  his  for- 

(155) 


156  OUB   POLITY. 

tunes,   but  anywhere  within  the  range  of  a 
reasonable  demand  for  his  services. 

This  leads  me  to  remark  that  the  Metho- 
dist itinerancy  is  as  general  as  the  episcopa- 
cy. Every  preacher  who  unites  with  any 
Conference  thereby  joins  the  traveling  connec- 
tion— that  is,  joins  the  ministry  of  Southern 
Methodism  to  go  whithersoever  the  bishop 
may  see  such  need  of  his  services  as  justifies 
his  appointment.  This  is  the  economic  fact 
upon  which  the  transfer  power  of  the  bishop 
is  based.  Otherwise  the  transfer  power  would 
become  nothing  more  than  a  power  of  per- 
suasion, and  as  a  matter  of  authority  amount 
to  nothing.  It  is  proper  to  say  here  that  our 
bishops  usually,  perhaps  unexceptionally,  con- 
fer with  a  preacher  to  be  transferred  from 
his  own  to  another  Conference,  so  as,  in  a 
good  measure,  to  secure  his  assent  before  he 
is  appointed.  The  bishops,  nevertheless,  have 
the  power  to  transfer  a  preacher  to  any  field 
within  our  boundaries  without  his  consent,  and 
even  against  his  will  in  the  case.  It  is  due  to  be 
said  here  that,  inasmuch  as  our  itinerancy  is  as 
general  as  our  episcopacy,  and  as  our  Church 
confers  upon  the  bishops  the  right  to  transfer 
preachers  without  any  final  right  on  the  part  of 
the  preachers  to  refuse,  such  preachers,  when 


THE   ITINERANCY. 


transferred,  have  the  same  right  to  considera- 
tion and  fellowship  as  those  who  have  been 
members  of  the  receiving  Conference  from 
the  beginning.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
transfer  has  to  forego  many  things  which  are 
peculiarly  dear  to  a  Methodist  preacher  in 
order  to  serve  the  Church  by  obeying  the  or- 
der of  Providence  and  the  appointing  power 
to  the  extent  of  leaving  his  own  Conference 
to  take  work  in  another. 

But  the  life  work  of  nearly  all  our  preach- 
ers is  within  the  bounds  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ference with  which  they  first  connect  them- 
selves. Within  those  bounds  every  man  is 
appointed  to  his  work  each  year  by  the  bish- 
op who  presides.  The  bishop  alone  is  the 
responsible  appointing  power.  This  does  not 
mean  that  no  others  exert  an  influence.  The 
bishop  receives  much  advice,  a  large  amount 
of  which  he  is  no  doubt  wise  in  disregard- 
ing. But  so  vast  a  movement  as  the  itin- 
erancy does  not  leave  so  vital  a  matter  to 
haphazard.  The  bishops  are  furnished  with 
the  best  system  possible  for  obtaining  coun- 
sel of  the  most  seasoned  kind  in  regard 
to  both  the  preachers  to  be  appointed  and 
the  fields  to  be  served.  For  the  full  vindi- 
cation of  this  position  it  is  necessary  that  we 


158  OUB  POLITY. 

glance  at  the  order  of  work  within  the  Con- 
ference. 

Each  Annual  Conference  contains  quite  a 
large  territory,  sometimes  a  whole  state, 
sometimes  a  half  state,  and  so  on,  according 
to  the  population  to  be  served,  etc.  The  lar- 
gest Conferences  have  from  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred  pastoral  charges,  em- 
bracing from  sixty  to  one  hundred  thou- 
sand Church  members.  Each  Conference  is 
divided  into  a  number  of  presiding  elders'  dis- 
tricts, from  ten  to  twelve,  according  to  the 
number  of  charges  in  the  Conference.  These 
districts  usually  contain  from  twelve  to  twen- 
ty pastoral  charges.  The  presiding  elder, 
appointed  annually  by  the  bishop,  has  charge 
of  the  district,  and  his  duties  in  general  are 
to  preach  on  four  occasions  in  each  pastoral 
charge,  to  preside  over  the  Quarterly  and 
District  Conferences,  counsel  with  the  preach- 
ers for  their  own  improvement  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Church,  and  to  see  that  all  the 
interests  of  the  Church  are  looked  after. 
This  office  is  one  of  very  great  importance, 
and  when  duly  magnified  stands  second  only 
to  that  of  a  bishop.  It  involves  heavy  labors^ 
large  responsibilities,  and  vast  opportunities. 

This  leads  us  back  to  the  question  of  the 


THE   ITINERANCY.  159 

appointing  power  and  the  usual  method  of  its 
exercise.  All  the  presiding  elders  of  an  An- 
nual Conference  compose  a  council  which  has 
come  to  be  called  the  bishop's  cabinet.  Usual- 
ly the  presiding  bishop  calls  the  presiding 
elders  to  meet  him  daily,  and  they  together 
go  carefully  over  the  charges,  examining  into 
the  work  of  the  preachers,  and  making  a  ten- 
tative appointment  of  each  to  a  place.  There 
are  frequent  revisions  of  these  appointments 
before  they  are  ready  for  announcement  at 
the  close  of  the  Conference.  Not  only  does 
the  bishop  have  the  full  benefit  of  the  counsel 
of  these  chosen  advisers^  but  any  preacher  or 
layman  has  access  to  the  presiding  elders  and 
the  bishop  to  show  any  view  he  may  hold  in 
regard  to  men  and  places.  But  after  all,  the 
responsibility  for  every  appointment  is  with 
the  bishop,  who,  if  he  should  choose,  has 
power  to  change  all  the  appointments  agreed 
upon  by  the  presiding  elders,  including  the 
places  of  the  presiding  elders  themselves. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  that  this  order 
places  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
bishops.  This  might  be  true  under  certain 
conceivable  conditions.  But  so  long  as  wise 
men  do  not  put  themselves  to  great  trouble 
to  do  foolish  things,  or  good  men  to  do  bad 


1GO  OUB   POLITY. 

things,  in  either  case  without  reward  and  in 
full  view  of  persuasive  penalties,  there  is  no 
danger  of  the  misuse  of  this  peculiarly  sacred 
power. 

As  to  our -preachers,  we  hold  strongly  that 
God  calls  those  whom  he  would  have  to  pro- 
claim his  message,  and  that  such  a  call  implies 
a  call  to  thoroughly  prepare  for  the  best  use 
of  the  holy  office. 

When  one  is  inwardly  persuaded  of  his  call 
to  the  ministry,  he  is,  if  on  examination  found 
worthy,  recommended  by  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference of  the  charge  to  which  he  belongs  for 
license  to  preach.  This  recommendation  is 
now  to  the  District  Conference.  Formerly — 
that  is,  from  the  time  of  our  organization  till 
1894 — the  licensing  of  preachers  was  by  the 
Quarterly  Conference.  The  District  Confer- 
ence receiving  the  recommendation  examines 
into  the  gifts,  graces,  and  usefulness  of  the 
candidate;  and,  finding  him  worthy,  grants  a 
license  for  one  year,  which  must  thereafter  be 
annually  renewed  until  the  local  preacher  thus 
made  is  ordained  a  deacon.  This  ordination 
comes  in  due  course,  by  vote  of  the  An- 
nual Conference,  in  four  years,  provided 
the  local  preacher  has  done  satisfactory  work 
and  is  recommended  by  the  District  Confer- 


THE   ITINERANCY.  JgJ 

ence  for  this  order.  If  the  local  preacher  thus 
made  desires  to  join  the  traveling  connection, 
he  procures  a  recommendation  from  the  Dis- 
trict Conference  to  the  Annual  Conference  for 
admission  on  trial.  At  the  session  of  the  An- 
nual Conference  he  is  examined  by  two  com- 
mittees touching  his  gifts,  attainments,  and 
suitableness  for  this  work.  If  found  worthy, 
and  if  he  be  needed,  he  is  admitted  on  trial 
by  a  majority  vote  of  the  Annual  Conference. 
He  is  not  then  a  member  of  the  Conference, 
but  is  a  local  preacher  on  trial  to  become  a 
member.  If  at  the  expiration  of  two  years 
he  has  proven  his  fitness  for  the  work,  and 
passed  satisfactory  examinations  ep  the  course 
of  study  for  the  two  years,  he  is  by  order  of 
the  Conference  ordained  a  deacon  and  admit- 
ted into  membership  in  the  Conference.  If 
he  continue  for  two  years  more  to  demon- 
strate his  fitness  for  the  work,  and  pass  the  re- 
quired examinations  on  the  course  of  study  for 
the  third  and  fourth  years,  he  is  ordained  an 
elder. 

When  once  admitted  into  membership  in 
the  traveling  connection,  there  are  five  ways 
of  going  out:  To  withdraw;  to  die;  to  be  ex- 
pelled for  immorality,  as  provided  for  in  the 
Discipline;  to  ask  for  and  receive  a  location; 
11 


162  OUR  POLITY. 

and  to  be  located  by  vote  of  the  Conference 
for  inefficiency  or  unacceptability.  When  lo- 
cation occurs,  either  by  request  or  by  the  un- 
solicited vote  of  the  Conference,  the  one  thus 
located  remains  a  local  preacher. 

It  should  here  be  noted  that  the  work  of  a 
local  preacher  is  chiefly  to  preach  within  the 
charge  to  which  he  belongs,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  preacher  in  charge,  and  to  assist  in 
all  manner  of  religious  work  as  opportunity 
may  offer.  The  local  preacher  pursues  some 
other  vocation  for  a  livelihood,  and  usually 
receives  nothing  for  his  services  as  a  preach- 
er. The  local  preacher  has  been,  through 
most  of  our  history,  a  great  power  in  the 
Church.  With  the  multiplication  of  reg- 
ular pastors,  and  a  decrease  in  the  size  of 
pastoral  charges,  by  which  most  of  our  peo- 
ple are  furnished  with  frequent  opportuni- 
ties for  hearing  the  word,  there  has  come 
a  decline  in  our  local  ministry  which  is  to 
be  much  regretted.  There  is  still  room  for 
the  constant  employment  of  thousands  of 
such  godly  and  devoted  men,  and  the  seer 
who  can  suggest  a  plan  by  which  the  local 
ministry  can  be  restored  to  its  pristine  pow- 
er and  spiritual  glory  will  confer  a  lasting 
Benefit  upon  foe  Church.  The  English  M>th- 


THE   ITINEBANCY.  163 

odists,  amidst  their  crowded  conditions,  are 
making  great  use  of  it. 

Within  the  Annual  Conference,  and  apart 
from  those  who  are  in  the  active  work,  there  are 
supernumerary  and  superannuated  preachers. 
"A  supernumerary  preacher  is  one  who  is  so 
disabled  by  affliction  as  to  be  unable  to  preach 
constantly,  but  who  is  willing  to  do  any  work 
in  the  ministry  which  the  bishop  may  direct 
and  he  may  be  able  to  perform."  "A  super- 
annuated preacher  is  one  who  is  worn  out  in 
the  itinerant  service. "  Superannuated  preach- 
ers are  supported  in  whole  or  in  part,  usually 
in  part,  and  a  very  small  part  at  best,  out  of 
the  superannuates'  fund — a  fund  raised  chiefly 
by  collections  throughout  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence for  that  purpose. 

The  highest  place  in  our  ministry  is  that  of 
bishop,  or  General  Superintendent.  Our  bish- 
ops are  elected  by  the  General  Conference, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  a  delegated  body 
composed  of  an  equal  number  of  traveling 
preachers  and  laymen.  Bishops  are  in  every 
way  amenable  to  the  body  which  makes  them. 
The  life  and  official  administration  of  each  is 
passed  under  review  once  in  four  years.  This 
is  done  in  what  is  known  as  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy.  Any  preacher  or  layman  in  the 


164  OUR   POLITY. 

connection  may  come,  by  letter  or  in  per  on, 
before  this  committee  with  any  complaint  he 
may  wish  to  make.  It  thus  happens  that  our 
bishops'  lives  are  lived  in  the  open  like  those 
of  all  our  preachers.  No  class  is  held  to  a 
stricter  accountability;  and  yet  there  is  in 
that  Committee,  as  elsewhere,  a  profound 
reverence  for  the  office  and  for  those  who 
are  called  to  fill  it.  This  is  largely  due  to 
the  unimpeachable  integrity  and  purity  of 
those  who  have  been  occupants  of  that 
place.  We  have  never  had  a  case  of  trouble 
with  a  bishop  on  moral  grounds,  and  none 
of  a  serious  nature  on  grounds  of  adminis- 
tration. 

The  College  of  Bishops  meets  once  a  year, 
in  the  month  of  May,  to  consider  all  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Church  committed  to  them.  There 
is  an  annual  assignment  made  of  each  bishop  to 
the  work  of  the  ensuing  year.  This  is  done 
through  a  committee  of  bishops  appointed  for 
that  purpose  by  the  College. 

There  is  no  class  of  preachers  among  us  to 
which  is  assigned  so  long  and  varied  a  list  of 
duties  as  to  our  bishops.  Their  responsibili- 
ties are  of  the  largest,  and  their  fields  of  labor 
practically  boundless.  This  will  be  readily 
seen  by  reading,  in  Chapter  III. ,  Section  2,  of 


THE   ITINERANCY.  165 

the  Discipline,  what  the  Church  provides  that 
its  bishops  shall  do. 

The  bishops,  being  general  superintendents, 
are  supported  by  the  general  Church  out  of 
funds  collected  for  the  purpose  within  each 
Annual  Conference.  Bishops  who  have  be- 
come superannuated,  and  the  widows  and  chil- 
dren of  deceased  bishops,  are  sustained  in  the 
same  way.  Both  the  salaries  and  allowances 
are  fixed  by  recommendation  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Episcopacy. 


XIII. 
OUR 


WE  may  say,  without  any  disparagement 
of  other  forms  of  Church  government,  that 
there  is  one  element  in  Methodism  which  sur- 
passes anything  hitherto  known  in  Church 
organization.  That  feature  may  be  called 
the  genius  of  it  rather  than  a  mere  element. 
We  refer  to  its  connectionalism.  We  call  it 
the  genius  of  Methodism  because  it  pervades 
with  its  spirit  every  part  of  the  system  from 
the  reception  of  a  preacher  on  trial  to  the 
bishopric  or  general  superintendence,  and  is 
in  all  the  work  of  the  Church  from  the  exten- 
sion of  church  -  building  within  the  home 
field  to  the  giving  of  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.  By  connectionalism  we  mean  that 
summation  of  conditions  by  which  the  whole 
Church  is  present  in  a  good  sense  wherever 
any  part  of  it  exists  —  that  is,  each  part  is  in 
vital  relation  to  all  the  others.  The  most  in- 
experienced preacher  in  the  humblest  field  is 
there  in  effect  by  the  appointment  or  will  of 
the  whole  Church.  The  Church  brings  this 
appointment  about  by  the  simplest  and  most 
rational  method  possible.  It  is  through  the 
(166) 


OUR    CONNECTIOXALISM.  167 

bishop,  who  has  a  wholly  general  relation,  and 
who  is  as  truly  subject  to  appointment  by  his 
peers  as  the  pastors  are  to  appointment  by 
him.  He  has  his  work  assigned  him  once  a 
year,  and  each  time  his  field  is  as  liable  to  be 
within  China  or  Brazil  as  in  Tennessee.  But 
this  general  superintendence,  which  is  thus 
free  from  local  prejudices,  is  not  a  haphazard 
matter.  The  bishop  does  his  work  after 
counsel  from  the  presiding  elders,  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  know  in  as  far  as  possible  both  the 
man  and  the  field.  The  bishops  themselves 
are  elected  to  this  work  by  the  whole  Church 
in  a  delegated  assembly,  which  is  composed 
of  traveling  preachers  and  laymen  in  equal 
numbers,  and  the  bishops  are  constantly  ame-. 
nable  to  this  body  for  the  way  in  which  they 
exercise  this  appointing  power  as  well  as  all  oth- 
er functions  which  belong  to  the  office.  It  is 
in  this  way  that  the  whole  Church  makes  the 
appointment  of  any  preacher,  whether  he  be 
the  pastor  of  the  remotest  mission,  with  its 
peculiar  hardships,  or  the  episcopacy,  with  its 
fullness  of  care  and  responsibility.  This 
principle  finds  most  impressive  illustration 
when  an  Annual  Conference  meets  in  its  last 
session  to  receive  the  appointments.  In  the 
whole  body  not  a  man  knows  certainly  what 


108  OUR   POLITY. 

his  field  of  labor  will  be  until  the  pronounce- 
ment falls  from  the  lips  of  the  bishop,  the 
man  through  whom  the  Church  appoints  him. 
These  men  are  not  less  ardent  in  their  at- 
tachments because  of  the  fact  that  their  sys- 
tem makes  them  cosmopolitan  in  their  sym- 
pathies and  habits  of  thought.  No  men  have 
stronger  individuality  or  more  definite  pref- 
erences than  Methodist  preachers.  They  go, 
nevertheless,  whithersoever  they  are  sent  with 
a  good  cheer  which  is  utterly  inexplicable  to 
those  who  do  not  understand  the  workings  of 
our  system.  There  is  no  truer  exhibition  of 
moral  sublimity  in  all  the  organizations  of 
men  than  an  Annual  Conference  receiving  the 
appointments. 

There  is  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  hu- 
man history  such  a  combination  of  self -sur- 
render and  pure  democracy  as  is  found  in  the 
Methodist  itinerancy  and  its  loyal  acceptance 
by  the  Church.  The  self -surrender  element 
is  found  in  the  Catholic  Church,  especially  in 
its  Jesuitism,  but  the  democracy  is  not  there. 
With  the  Romanists  everything  proceeds  from 
a  so-called  infallible  pope;  with  the  Metho- 
dists everything,  including  its  ministry 
throughout,  is  of  the  Church.  The  self- 
surrender  of  the  Methodist  preacher,  while 


OUR   CONNECTIONALISM.  100 

in  a  broad  and  high  sense  ausolute,  is  yet  un- 
der guard  of  a  democratic  order  so  thorough 
and  complete  as  to  take  out  of  it  all  elements 
of  mere  chance  and  as  far  as  possible  all  dan- 
gers from  mere  personal  prejudice.  In  other 
words,  his  surrender  is  not  to  any  man  or 
committee  of  men,  but  to  the  whole  Church 
for  the  good  of  the  whole.  Not  only  so,  but 
the  surrender  of  the  right,  on  the  part  of  the 
preacher,  to  choose  his  field  of  work  is  an- 
swered back  to  by  the  surrender,  on  the  part 
of  the  congregation,  of  its  right  to  choose  a 
pastor.  And  yet  there  is  no  lack  of  intelli- 
gent counsel  both  ways.  A  practical  outcome 
of  this  order  is  that  probably  no  Church  is  bet- 
ter satisfied  with  its  pastors,  and  no  preachers 
more  unselfishly  devoted  to  their  people. 

As  it  is  in  the  ministry,  so  it  is  in  the  work 
of  the  Church.  The  Church  itself  in.  general 
council  determines  what  work  shall  be  under- 
taken of  a  general  order,  and  by  a  rational 
method  determines  what  part  of  the  work 
shall  be  done  by  each  part  of  the  Church,  and 
thus  stands  back  of  the  individual  pastor,  as 
he  proceeds  to  his  task,  and  furnishes  the 
pledge  of  its  assembled  wisdom  to  each  con- 
gregation as  it  goes  forward  with  the  achieve- 
ment of  its  part  of  the  whole.  It  will  be 


170  OUR   POLITY. 

easily  seen  that  this  plan  greatly  reenforces 
the  individual  invention  of  the  pastor,  and, 
when  the  pastor  is  wholly  lacking  in  inven- 
tion, provides  for  a  safe  and  harmonious 
schedule  of  Church  work. 

In  the  connectional  order  of  Methodism 
the  Boards  of  Management  are  truly  General 
Boards.  Each  Annual  Conference  has  its  own 
Boards,  but  in  addition  to  superintending  lo- 
cal or  Conference  interests  these  Boards  have 
a  connectional  side.  They  execute  within  the 
Annual  Conferences  the  plans  of  the  General 
Boards.  The  General  Boards  are  created  by 
th<*  General  Conference  every  four  years,  and 
in  all  the  interests  committed  to  them  they 
stand  for  the  General  Conference  in  the  in- 
terims of  its  meetings.  In  this  way  the  will 
of  the  general  Church  or  General  Confer- 
ence is  made  to  run  on  without  lack  of 
authority  or  resources  as  surely  and  as  suc- 
cessfully as  if  each  interest  were  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence itself.  As  a  result  of  this  arrange- 
ment, whatever  these  Boards  undertake, 
within  the  limitations  put  upon  them,  be- 
comes a  matter  for  the  whole  Church,  in  the 
doing  of  which  the  honor  of  the  Church  is 
involved,  and  in  which  the  loyalty  of  every 


OUR  CONNECTIONALISM.  171 

charge  to  the  will  of  the  general  Church  comes 
into  play. 

There  are  certain  things  which  stand  related 
to  this  connectional  organization  very  much 
as  in  geometry  a  corollary  is  related  to  a  the- 
orem and  its  processes  of  demonstration. 
Logically  considered,  they  are  "obvious  con- 
sequences," whether  they  have  as  yet  mate- 
rialized into  a  part  of  our  polity,  as  some  of 
them  have,  or  stand  forth  only  in  the  form  of 
a  logical  demand  that  the  Church  shall  use 
them. 

One  of  these  corollaries  is  the  transfer 
power,  which  is  born  of  the  relation  of  our 
general  superintendency  to  our  general  itiner- 
ancy as  set  forth  in  the  discussion  of  "Our 
Itinerancy." 

Two  other  conclusions  which  connectional- 
ism  was  bound  to  reach,  and  did  reach  long 
ago,  were  a  connectional  organ  and  a  connec- 
tional publishing  interest.  How  well  these 
have  worked,  we  have  all  seen  long  ago. 
Some  years  ago,  when  the  Publishing  House 
became  involved  to  a  point  of  practical  insol- 
vency, the  connectional  spirit  was  appealed 
to,  and  a  process  was  begun  which  resulted 
quickly  in  its  recuperation,  and  brought  it  in 
a  short  while  to  foundations  which  are  among 


172  OUR   POLITY. 

the  securest  in  modern  commerce.  The  same 
thing  was  illustrated  in  the  payment  in  one 
year  of  a  missionary  debt  of  more  than  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars  without 
diminishing  the  regular  collections  for  that 
interest.  This  magnificent  result  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  Secretary,  Dr. 
Morrison,  went  forth  on  his  mission  he  was 
as  much  at  home  and  in  authority  in  San 
Francisco  as  he  was  in  Nashville,  where  the 
offices  of  the  Boards  are  located.  Again  the 
rallying  of  the  connectional  spirit,  and  the 
use  of  the  connectional  opportunity,  saved 
the  cause. 

But  there  are  two  other  conclusions  which 
are  inevitable  from  the  connectional  order  of 
Methodism,  which  are  just  beginning  to  be 
realized  as  a  part  of  the  polity  of  the  Church. 
One  of  these  is  a  connectional  system  of  edu- 
cation. The  present  Board  of  Education  has 
taken  steps  which  unquestionably  tend  in  that 
direction,  and  some  progress  has  been  made 
toward  practical  results.  Indeed,  the  act  of 
the  Board  of  Trust  of  Vanderbilt  University 
and  of  the  General  Conference  in  making 
that  institution  the  university  of  the  whole 
Church  gives  promise  of  a  thoroughly  re- 
lated and  compacted  system  which  will  en- 


OUR   CONNECTIOXALISM.  17.°) 

able  us  to  lead  the  van,  not  by  the  sacrifice  of 
other  great  schools,  but  by  an  order  which 
will  help  them  all,  and  which  will  reach 
down  and  clasp  hands  with  the  public  school 
system  so  as  to  conserve  rather  than  in  any 
sense  surrender  the  Methodist  element  in 
them. 

But  perhaps  the  finest  conclusion,  and  one 
which  we  are  barely  entering  upon,  is  the 
creation  of  a  connectional  fund  for  our  super- 
annuated preachers.  The  doing  of  this  is  an 
easy  thing  under  a  proper  plan  and  with  the 
right  time  limits.  This  is  a  matter  in  which 
we  can  much  better  afford  to  go  slowly  than 
not  to  go  at  all.  The  lifetime  of  a  Church  is 
a  long  stretch.  So  long  as  our  itinerancy 
continues,  the  worn-out  preacher  without  re- 
sources is  to  be  a  stupendous  fact  in  our 
Church  life.  The  General  Conference  of 
1902  determined  upon  the  raising  of  five 
million  dollars  for  this  purpose.  The  sources 
chiefly  relied  upon  under  that  order  are  pop- 
ular collections  and  bequests.  Other  sources 
will  probably  be  put  under  contribution  later. 
There  are  at  least  two  others  which  might 
be  used  with  great  profit  to  the  fund.  The 
first  of  these  is  a  certain  per  cent  of  the  pop- 
ular collection  in  every  charge.  The  stiinu- 


174  OUB   POLITY. 

lating  effect  of  such  a  movement  would  make 
the  remaining  per  cent  a  larger  amount  than 
that  which  is  now  raised  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, and  would  result  in  the  bringing  of 
this  great  claim  clearly  before  our  people. 
The  second  is  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  clear- 
ings of  the  Publishing  House. 

After  all,  nothing  of  an  economic  kind 
would  have  a  better  effect  in  guarding  our 
ministry  against  the  danger  of  the  contin- 
uance of  inefficient  men  in  the  traveling  con- 
nection. Such  a  fund  would  bring  a  better 
service  and  a  greater  dignity  to  the  Church, 
and  a  larger  sense  of  security  to  the  faithful 
men  who  are  toiling  on  amidst  galling  limita- 
tions to  serve  their  generation  by  the  will  of 
God. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  Methodist  polity, 
when  operated  according  to  its  design,  is  an 
organization  of  tremendous  force  and  un- 
equaled  flexibility.  The  system  is  capable 
of  a  vast  impact,  one  which  is  scarcely  re- 
sistible within  the  domain  of  the  Church's 
work.  But  from  the  fact  that  our  polity  is 
a  perfect  concatenation  of  parts — that  is,  a 
chain  of  essential  links — it  follows  that  a 
want  of  strength  or  adjustment  at  any  point 
affects  the  efficiency  of  the  whole  order.  It 


OUR   CONNECTIONALISM.  175 

implies,  therefore,  an  extraordinary  respon- 
sibility for  all  those  who  have  any  vital  con- 
nection with  the  operation  of  the  system. 

From  what  has  been  said  concerning  the 
relation  of  parts  in  our  system,  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  see  that  we  are  at  the  farthest  remove 
from  the  congregational  system.  The  two 
orders  are  as  unlike  as  possible.  They  will 
not  mix.  Whether  the  congregational  order 
could  be  improved  by  the  organic  adoption 
of  certain  features  of  our  polity  is  a  curious 
question  on  which  we  do  not  desire  to  enter; 
but  that  any  tendency  toward  congregational- 
ism,  or  even  broader  forms  of  localizing, 
works  detriment  to  our  interests  there  can 
scarcely  be  any  question.  It  is  a  question 
whether  or  not  there  is  such  a  tendency  in 
some  sections  among  us.  We  have  occasion- 
ally seen  symptoms  which  look  in  this  direc- 
tion, but  nothing  which  indicates  a  serious 
change  of  thought,  only  a  loss  of  sympathy. 
It  is  well,  however,  for  every  pastor  and 
teacher  to  keep  careful  and  statesmanlike 
guard  over  the  loyalty  of  the  people  to 
connectional  order  and  interests. 


SECTION  FOUR. 


MISSIONS. 


BY  REV.  EDMUND  F.  COOK, 

Secretary  Educational  Department  Board  of  Missions, 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

12  (1T7) 


XIV. 
THE  BIBLE  A  MISSIONARY  BOOK. 

The  doctrine  of  missions  does  not  rest  upon 
any  particular  passage  or  passages  in  the  Bi- 
ble, but  upon  the  fundamental  conception  of 
the  whole  Book.  The  Bible  in  every  essential 
element  is  missionary.  It  reveals  a  universal 
God  and  Father,  a  world-wide  redemptive 
scheme,  and  a  Saviour  whose  love  and  power 
encompasseth  all  nations  of  the  earth.  The 
whole  Bible,  then,  is  the  basis  of  our  mission- 
ary obligation. 

MISSIONS  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

If  we  but  think  of  God's  universal  claims 
as  we  come  to  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament, 
we  shall  find  a  missionary  sweep  in  revelation 
which  will  carry  us  infinitely  beyond  the  an- 
cient tribal  conception  of  God  and  lift  us  in- 
finitely above  the  pharisaism  of  the  Jews. 

God  has  been  careful  to  reveal  universal 
claims  and  a  scheme  of  world- wide  redemp- 
tion. His  missionary  plan  for  the  world  runs 
through  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament. 

(170) 


180  MISSIONS. 

1.  There  is  deep  missionary  significance  in 
God's  promise  to  Abraham. 

"Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee 
out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from 
thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show 
thee:  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and 
I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great;  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  blessing:  and  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee: 
and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  (Gen.  xii.  1-3.) 

2.  There  is  deep  missionary  significance  in 
God's  commands. 

It  is  Jehovah's  purpose  to  maintain  world- 
wide supremacy  and  to  lead  all  nations  back 
to  himself.  So  in  the  first  commandment, 

"Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me" 
(Ex.  xx.  3), 

he  banishes  all  other  gods  and  all  other  re- 
ligions. The  modern  argument,  therefore, 
that  Christianity  is  for  America,  Buddhism 
for  China,  and  Hindooism  for  India  is  as  ab- 
surd and  presumptuous  as  the  Jews'  assump- 
tion that  Jehovah  is  the  God  of  the  Hebrews 
only. 

3.  There  is  deep  missionary  significance  in 
the  utterance  of  the  prophets. 


THE    BIBLE    A    MISSIONARY    BOOK.  J8| 

Tsaiah,  the  great  statesman  and  reformer 
of  Judah,  had  a  world-wide  vision. 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  estab- 
lished in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
unto  it."  (Isa.  ii.  2.) 

He  saw  the  unlimited  scope  of  God's  purpose 
in  Israel — viz.,  the  promulgation  of  the  gos- 
pel to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

"Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  uphold;  mine  elect, 
in  whom  my  soul  delighteth;  I  have  put  my  spirit 
upon  him:  he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  to  the 
Gentiles.  ...  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discour- 
aged, till  he  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth:  and 
the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law."  (Isa.  xlii.  1-4.) 

The  great  prophet  sees  also  every  living  soul 
as  a  subject  of  redeeming  grace  and  voices 
God's  all-inclusive  invitation. 

"Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the 
waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money;  come  ye,  buy 
and  eat;  yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without 
money  and  without  price.  .  .  .  Behold,  thou 
shalt  call  a  nation  that  thou  knowest  not,  and  na- 
tions that  knew  not  thee  shall  run  unto  thee  be- 
cause of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  for  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel;  for  he  hath  glorified  thee."  (Isa.  Iv.  1-5.) 


132  MISSIONS. 

Jeremiah,  prophesying  at  a  time  of  great 
disturbance  within  the  nation,  was  not  con- 
cerned wholly  with  the  fate  of  his  own  people. 


"O  Lord,  my  strength,  and  my  fortress,  and  my 
refuge  in  the  day  of  affliction,  the  Gentiles  shall 
come  unto  thee  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  shall 
say,  Surely  our  fathers  have  inherited  lies,  vanity, 
and  things  wherein  there  is  no  profit.  Shall  a  man 
make  gods  unto  himself,  and  they  are  no  gods? 
Therefore,  behold,  I  will  this  once  cause  them  to 
know,  I  will  cause  them  to  know  mine  hand  and 
my  might;  and  they  shall  know  that  my  name  is 
The  Lord."  (Jer.  xvi.  19-21.) 

Ezekiel,  a  Jewish  prophet  in  the  time  of  the 
Babylonian  captivity,  was  solicitous  not  only 
for  the  Jew,  but  also  for  the  nations  round 
about. 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  In  the  day  that  I 
shall  have  cleansed  you  from  all  your  iniquities 
I  will  also  cause  you  to  dwell  in  the  cities,  and  the 
wastes  shall  be  builded.  And  the  desolate  land  shall 
be  tilled,  whereas  it  lay  desolate  in  the  sight  of  all 
that  passed  by.  .  .  .  Then  the  heathen  that  are 
left  round  abon£  you  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord 
build  the  ruined  places,  and  plant  that  that  was 
desolate:  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  I  will  do 
it"  (Ezek.  xxxvi.  33-36.) 

"And  I   will  set  my  glory  among  the  heathen, 


THE   BIBLE    A    MISSIONARY    BOOK.  Jg3 

and  all  the  heathen  shall  see  my  judgment  that  I 
have  executed,  and  my  hand  that  I  have  laid  upon 
them."  (Ezek.  xxxix.  21.) 

So  also  Amos,  Zechariah,  Jonah,  and  others 
have  their  missionary  message. 

4.  Tlwrc  is  a  deep  missionary  tone  in  the 
sonc/s  of  DarifJ. 

"Nothing  is  more  striking  in  the  Psalms 
than  the  unquestioning  and  natural  direct- 
ness with  which  they  embrace  the  heathen, 
the  nations,  as  equally  included  with  Israel 
in  the  purpose  and  the  kingdom  of  God." 
(Dean  Church.) 

"Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  thy  possession."  (Ps.  ii.  8.) 

"All  the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remember  and 
turn  unto  the  Lord:  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  na- 
tions shall  worship  before  thee.  For  the  kingdom 
is  the  Lord's:  and  he  is  the  governor  among  the 
nations."  (Ps.  xxii.  27,  28.) 

"The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof; 
the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein."  (Ps.  xxiv. 
1.) 

"He  shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea, 
and  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
(Ps.  Ixxii.  8.) 


184  MISSIONS. 

MISSIONS  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  supreme  representative  of  the  mission- 
ary conception  of  the  New  Testament.  Only  on  the  hypothesis 
of  the  offer  of  salvation  to  all  men  and  of  Christ's  purpose  that 
the  gospel  should  be  preached  to  all  the  world  can  the  words 
and  acts  of  Jesus  be  understood.  (Bishop  Bashford.) 

A  World  Saviour  Proclaimed. 

"And  the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not:  for, 
behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  is  born 
this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour,  which  is 
Christ  the  Lord."  (Luke  ii.  10,  11.) 

God's  World-Wide  Love  and  Purpose  in  the 

Gift  of  a  Saviour. 

"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  (John 
iii.  16.) 

The  Saviour's  Conception  of  His  World-Wide 
Mission. 

"For  the  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost."  (Luke  xix.  10.) 

"And  if  any  man  hear  my  words,  and  believe  not, 
I  judge  him  not:  for  I  came  not  to  judge  the  world, 
but  to  save  the  .world."  (John  xii.  47.) 

The  Master's  Missionary  Purpose. 

"And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all 


THK    mni.K    A    MISSIONARY    BOOK.  Jg5 

nations;    and   then   shall    the   end   come."      (Matt, 
xxlv.  14.) 

The,  Master's  Missionary  Teaching. 

The  Pharisees  believed  that  God  was  the 
God  of  the  Jews  and  excluded  all  other  na- 
tions from  the  kingdom.  Against  this  selfish 
and  exclusive  view  the  Master  directed  much 
of  his  teaching. 

In  the  opening  words  of  the  pattern  prayer 
Jesus  teaches  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  Who  would  dare  pray, 
"Our  Father,"  and  then  limit  the  kinship  of 
God  to  a  single  tribe  or  nation.  Dr.  O.  E. 
Brown  declares :  "He  who  says  'Our  Father'  is 
either  a  missionary  or  a  hypocrite."  To  pray 
in  sincerity  "Our  Father"  is  to  feel  the  passion 
of  brotherhood  that  runs  through  the  whole  of 
the  missionary  movement.  "Thy  kingdom 
come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven"  can  never  be  offered  as  a  prayer  by 
one  who  would  exclude  from  Christ's  king- 
dom a  single  nation  or  tribe  on  earth. 

"Every  parable  Jesus  spoke,  every  principle 
he  enunciated  is  of  universal  application. 
How  can  one  interpret  the  parables  of  the 
lost  piece  of  money,  or  of  the  lost  sheep  over 


186  MISSIONS. 

which  the  shepherd  rejoices  more  than  over 
the  ninety  and  nine  who  went  riot  astray,  and 
yet  limit  the  teaching  of  Jesus  to  the  Jews 
alone?  Such  a  limitation  is  a  contradiction 
of  these  parables.  The  parable  of  the  great 
supper  teaches  the  call  of  nations  in  the  high 
ways  and  the  hedges  as  well  as  of  individuals. 
The  parable  of  the  prodigal  son  is  spoken  es- 
pecially to  warn  the  Jews  that  the  Gentiles 
may  yet  return  to  God  and  find  a  welcome 
home."  (Bishop  Bashford.) 

The  Master  died  rather  than  give  up  his 
missionary  purpose.  The  Jews  would  have 
gladly  made  him  king  and  set  him  upon  a 
temporal  throne  as  the  antagonist  of  Rome. 
They  pleaded  with  him  to  that  end.  But  his 
was  a  spiritual  kingdom,  planned  for  the  race 
and  destined  to  include  all  nations. 

The  Master's  Post-Resurrection  Command. 

"And  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  saying, 
All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 
Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you:  and, 
lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world.  Amen."  (Matt,  xxviii.  18-20.) 


THE    BIBLE    A    MISSIONARY    BOOK.  IgJ 

The  Missionary  Programme  of  the  Apostolic 
Church. 

"Then  opened  he  their  understanding,  that  they 
might  understand  the  scriptures,  and  said  unto 
them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behooved 
Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day:  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of 
these  things."  (Luke  xxiv.  45-48.) 

"But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth." 
(Acts  i.  8.) 

The  Missionary  Lesson  for  Peter. 
Peter  was  primarily  the  apostle  to  the  Jews, 
Imt  under  his  first  great  sermon  men  from  ev- 
ery nation  heard  and  were  saved.  (Acts  xi.) 
Even  this  remarkable  fact  did  not  fully  win 
him  from  Jewish  narrowness ;  so  God  gave 
him  a  special  lesson,  in  the  sheet  let  down 
from  heaven,  to  teach  him  that  all  nations 
were  included  in  his  kingdom.  (Read  Acts 
x.  9-48.) 

Paul  the  Great  Missionary  to  the  Gentiles. 

God's  missionary  plan  for  Paul  was  well 
defined  in  the  mind  of  the  Master,  but  it  was 


188  MISSIONS. 

given  to  Paul  step  by  step.     To  Ananias  the 
whole  scheme  was  outlined  as  follows: 

"But  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Go  thy  way:  for  he 
is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me,  to  bear  my  name  before 
the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel: 
for  I  will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suf- 
fer for  my  name's  sake."  (Acts  ix.  15,  16.) 

Paul's  Missionary  Call. 

"But  when  it  pleased  God,  who  separated  me 
from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by  his  grace, 
to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him 
among  the  heathen;  immediately  I  conferred  not 
with  flesh  and  blood."  (Gal.  i.  15,  16.) 

Paul's  Missionary  Conviction. 

"One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and 
Father  of  all."  (Eph.  iv.  5,  6.) 

"I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks,  and  to  the  Bar- 
barians; both  to  the  wise,  and  to  the  unwise.  So, 
as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  you  that  are  at  Rome  also."  (Rom.  i.  14, 
15.) 

Paul's  missionary  activity  is  a  vindication 
of  God's  purpose  of  world  conquest.  His 
epistles  are  strong  in  defense  of  this  policy, 
and  he  ever  opposes  vigorously  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  Pharisees  of  his  times. 


THE   BIBLE    A    MISSIONARY    BOOK.  IgQ 

John's  Message. 

John  the  beloved  gives  us  a  crowning  mes- 
sage of  unsurpassed  missionary  significance. 

"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to  every  nation, 
and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people."  (Rev.  xiv. 
G.) 

"And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come.  And 
let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that 
is  athirst  come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take 
the  water  of  life  freely."  (Rev.  xxii.  17.) 


XV. 
THE  MODERN  MISSIONARY  AWAKEN- 


THE  LARGER  MOVEMENT. 

The  theme  of  missions  is  not  new.  We  have 
seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  missions 
has  a  large  place  in  the  scheme  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  that  the  central  theme  of  the 
New  Testament  is  "Salvation  through  Christ" 
for  all  the  world. 

The  first  two  centuries  of  the  Christian 
Church  were  marked  by  decided  missionary 
activity.  The  movement  began  on  the  return 
of  the  disciples  from  the  Mount  of  Transfig- 
uration and  continued,  though  with  lessened 
activity  toward  the  last,  until  the  beginning 
of  the  fourth  century. 

During  the  mediaeval  period  of  Church  his- 
tory, however,  missionary  activity  practically 
ceased.  It  was  a  time  of  theological  discus- 
sion and  the  rule  of  dogma.  Mr.  Blisswell 
says:  "Under  such  conditions  it  was  scarcely 
surprising  that  active  mission  work,  at  least 
(190) 


THE   MOUEKX    MISSIONARY    AWAKENING.  191 

in  the  East,  should  cease.  The  Church  was 
too  busy  assimilating  the  barbarians  at  home 
to  pay  much  attention  to  the  barbarians  be- 
yond." 

Only  in  the  vision  and  personal  effort  of  a 
few  men  was  the  missionary  spirit  manifested 
in  this  period.  The  spirit  was  not  shared  by 
the  age,  and  the  effort  was  purely  persona). 
The  world  is  richer,  however,  and  the  history 
of  the  Church  ennobled  by  the  missionary 
record  of  a  few  missionary  spirits  produced 
by  that  unmissionary  day.  The  list  begins 
with  Ulfilas  and  ends  with  Raymond  Lull — a 
noble  company  living  in  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
but  out  of  touch  with  their  times. 

The  reawakening  of  the  Church  to  mission- 
ary activity  was  begun  by  William  Carey  in 
1792.  As  a  result  of  his  awakening  what  is 
called  the  modern  missionary  movement  was 
inaugurated.  Carey  was  a  humble  cobbler  by 
trade,  but  became  so  interested  in  the  study 
of  heathen  nations  and  world  conditions  that 
he  gave  himself  to  extended  research.  It  was 
a  vision  of  human  need  growing  out  of  these 
studies  that  awoke  in  his  heart  a  sense  of 
personal  responsibility  and  a  new  sense  of  the 
Church's  obligation  to  give  the  gospel  to  the 


J92  MISSIONS. 

lost  and  ruined  world.  In  that  great  sermon 
from  the  theme,  "Expect  great  things  from 
God;  attempt  great  things  for  God,"  Carey 
started  missionary  fires  which,  in  less  than 
one  hundred  years,  enkindled  a  new  flame  of 
missionary  zeal  in  every  great  denomination 
on  the  globe  and  started  a  flaming  evangel 
that  has  already  encircled  the  earth.  Carey 
left  behind  him  in  England  the  first  mission- 
ary society  organized  for  the  propagation  of 
the  gospel  among  the  heathen  and  set  sail 
for  India  in  the  early  summer  of  1793. 

Carey's  call  to  advance  was  taken  up  in 
England  by  Howers  and  Venn,  on  the  Conti- 
nent by  Yanderkemp  and  Janicke,  in  Ameri- 
ca by  Mills  and  Judson.  In  a  few  years  the 
movement  swept  through  every  Christian 
land,  and  organization  for  work  among  the 
heathen  rapidly  took  shape. 

The  Baptist  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  among  the  Heathen  was  organized  in 
May,  1792;  the  London  Missionary  Society 
(nonsectarian),  in  1795;  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society,  in  April,  1799;  the  Wesleyan  Mis- 
sionary Society,  in  1814 ;  the  Glasgow  and  Ed- 
inburgh Societies,  about  the  same  time. 

To  us  special  interest  attaches  to  the  move- 


THE   MODERN*    MISSIONARY   AWAKENING.  193 

merit  in  America.  The  sailing  of  Carey  and 
the  formation  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety aroused  great  interest  in  America,  and 
in  1706  the  New  York  Missionary  Society  was 
founded,  chiefly  by  the  Presbyterians,  al- 
though the  Baptists  and  Reformed  Dutch 
were  represented.  In  1797  the  Northern  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  formed  for  the  same 
work.  The  greatest  impulse  given  to  mission- 
ary interest  in  America,  however,  came  from 
Samuel  J.  Mills  and  his  friends  at  Williams 
College  in  their  Haystack  Prayer  Meeting, 
held  in  August,  1806.  Here,  while  in  conver- 
sation and  prayer,  there  came  to  these  five 
young  men  a  new  vision  of  the  world's  need 
and  a  new  sense  of  the  gospel's  power  to  meet 
this  need.  In  meeting  the  objection  offered 
by  one  of  the  company,  "It  is  impossible  to 
evangelize  the  heathen,"  young  Mills  sounded 
the  slogan  of  world  conquest  when  he  said: 
"We  can  do  it  if  we  will."  A  direct  result  of 
the  missionary  interest  and  enthusiasm  of 
these  young  men  and  their  offer  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  heathen  w*as  the  formation  of 
the  American  P>oard  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  the  organization  of  which 
was  effected  in  1S10.  At  the  time  the  five 
13 


194  MISSIONS. 

students  of  Williams  College  met  for  prayer 
and  the  study  of  missions  there  were  but  seven 
mission  boards  or  societies  in  the  world.  To- 
day every  important  denomination  in  Europe 
and  America  is  organized  for  the  work  of 
evangelizing  the  heathen  nations,  and  the 
movement  of  missions  is  represented  by  nearly 
four  hundred  boards  and  societies. 

Following  the  establishment  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  the  American 
Baptist  Board  was  organized  in  1814,  fol- 
lowed by  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society 
in  1819.  From  the  beginning  the  new  era  in 
missions  has  been  characterized  by  the  organ- 
ization of  denominational  mission  boards  for 
the  collection  and  application  of  funds  in 
heathen  lands,  and  in  most  cases  by  wisdom 
and  success  in  administration. 

Woman's  Work. 

A  striking  feature  of  the  modern  mission- 
ary movement  is  the  strength  and  thorough- 
ness of  the  women's  organization  for  mission- 
ary work  at  home  and  abroad.  About  1861 
a  movement  began  for  the  organization  of 
the  women  of  the  Church  into  missionary  so- 
cieties.  Gradually  all  the  denominations 


THE   MODERN    MISSIONARY    AWAKENING.  195 

were  reached  by  this  movement,  and  all  have 
enlisted  the  women  in  one  form  of  organiza- 
tion or  another  in  the  great  work  of  missions. 
They  are  to-day  a  mighty  factor  in  the  mak- 
ing of  a  missionary  Church  at  home  and  in 
furthering  the  interests  of  the  kingdom 
through  all  the  departments  of  Christian  work 
on  the  mission  field. 

SUPPLEMENTAL  AND  AUXILIARY  AGENTS. 

During  the  latter  years  of  this  new  mission- 
ary period  the  providential  opening  of  hea- 
then lands  to  the  gospel  and  the  consequent 
widening  of  the  missionary  opportunity  of 
the  Church  brought  on  demands  for  a  more 
widespread  missionary  awakening  of  the 
Church  at  home  and  for  rapid  extension  of 
the  work  abroad. 

Providential  answer  to  these  demands  is 
found  not  only  in  the  quickened  denomina- 
tional missionary  conscience,  but  in  a  num- 
ber of  excellent  supplemental  and  auxiliary 
agents  of  the  Church  in  the  great  missionary 
enterprise.  A  brief  statement  as  to  the  his- 
tory and  scope  of  the  chief  of  these  agents  is 
given  below.  We  offer  the  best  authorities  on 
each. 


196  MISSIONS. 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement. 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign 
Missions  was  called  into  being  in  1886  primarily  to 
raise  up  among  the  students  of  North  America  a 
sufficient  number  of  capable  missionary  candidates 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  various  missionary 
societies  or  boards.  To  help  these  candidates  or 
student  volunteers  in  the  preparation  for  their  life 
work  has  been  recognized  from  the  beginning  as 
falling  within  the  purpose  of  the  Movement.  An- 
other object  is  to  develop  among  students  who  are 
to  remain  in  Christian  lands  either  as  pastors  or 
as  laymen  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  sustain  and 
reenforce  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise  by  intel- 
ligent sympathy,  by  the  giving  of  money,  by  prayer, 
and  by  aggressive  effort  on  behalf  of  the  world's 
evangelization.  The  field  embraces  all  colleges, 
universities,  and  other  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  (Mott's 
Report,  1902.) 

Foreign  Department  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

In  close  connection  with  the  organization  of 
the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  was  the  develop- 
ment of  a  Foreign  Missionary  Department  in  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  As  the  college  work  of  the  Association 
had  expanded  so  that  there  were  organizations  in 
over  two  hundred  and  thirty  colleges,  and  as  the 
Conferences  at  Northfield  had  quickened  the  spir- 
itual life  and  the  sense  of  fellowship,  there  arose 
an  interest  in  and  a  feeling  of  responsibility  for 


THE   MODERN    MISSIONARY   AWAKENING.  I*)? 

young  men,  particularly  for  the  students  in  mis- 
sion lands.  A  long  journey  by  L.  D.  Wishard 
through  those  lands,  with  a  vivid  report  of  the  con- 
ditions and  the  wonderful  opportunities,  occasioned 
the  formation  of  a  special  department  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  similar  associations  both  for  stu- 
dents and  other  young  men.  The  work  was  com- 
menced with  characteristic  promptness,  and  in  1889 
the  first  Secretary,  David  McConaughy,  went  to 
India  to  inaugurate  a  work  second  to  none  in  the 
whole  department  of  missionary  activity.  (Bliss.) 

World's  Student  Federation. 

Meanwhile  other  similar  movements  had  been 
inaugurated.  There  had  come  into  being,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  American  Intercollegiate  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
(1877),  the  British  College  Christian  Union 
(1891),  the  German  Christian  Students'  Alliance 
(1893),  the  Scandinavian  University  Christian 
Movement  (1895),  and  a  Student  Christian  Move- 
ment in  mission  lands.  In  August,  1895,  repre- 
sentatives of  these  movements  met  at  the  ancient 
Swedish  castle  of  Vadstena,  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Wettern,  for  the  specific  purpose  of  uniting  in  a 
great  federation  the  national  intercollegiate  move- 
ments of  the  world.  The  result  was  the  World's 
Student  Christian  Federation.  (Bliss.) 

The  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement. 

This  Movement  is  interdenominational,  under  the 
direction  of  twenty  representatives  nominated  by 


108  MISSIONS. 

the  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Boards  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  -nineteen  laymen  chosen 
from  the  various  Churches.  Although  it  is  inter- 
denominational in  organization,  it  directs  all  mis- 
sionary activity  through  the  boards  into  denomi- 
national channels.  It  is  a  missionary  education  as- 
sociation, preparing  and  publishing  mission  study 
text-books  and  other  literature  for  the  Mission 
Boards.  It  prepares  literature  for  the  missionary 
education  of  the  Sunday  school,  syndicated  mate- 
rials for  missionary  treatment  and  illustration  of 
the  lessons  of  the  International  Series  susceptible 
of  such  treatment,  and  offers  aid  in  Sunday  school 
conventions  and  institutes.  It  trains  persons  in 
summer  conferences  and  metropolitan  missionary 
institutes  for  mission  study  and  other  leadership 
in  their  Churches.  Its  purpose  is  through  these 
agencies  to  deepen  the  spiritual  life  and  to  increase 
the  missionary  activity  among  the  young  laymen 
and  the  seventeen  million  members  of  the  young 
people's  societies  and  Sunday  schools.  The  genius 
of  the  Movement  consists  in  that  it  exists  to  serve 
the  Mission  Boards,  for  whom  and  by  whom  it  is 
directed,  preparing  only  the  literature  which  they 

use  and  training  leaders  for  their  denominations. 

(Michener's  Report,  1908.) 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement. 

In  November,  1906,  some  men  were  celebrating 

the  centennial  of  the  Haystack  Prayer  Meeting  rn 

Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York.    The 

zeal    of   Mills    and    his    companions    stirred    their 


THE    MODERN    MISSIONARY   AWAKENING.          19<) 

hearts,  and  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  was 
born. 

The  purpose  of  the  Movement  is  thus  expressed 
by  Mr.  Capen,  President  of  the  Interdenominational 
Laymen's  Missionary  Movement: 

"1.  To  project  a  campaign  of  education  among 
laymen,  to  be  conducted  under  the  direction  of  the 
various  boards. 

"2.  To  devise  a  comprehensive  plan,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  said  Board  Secretaries,  looking  toward 
the  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this  generation. 

"3.  To  endeavor  to  form  through  the  various 
boards  a  Centennial  Commission  of  Laymen,  fifty 
or  more  in  number,  to  visit  as  early  as  possible  the 
mission  fields  and  report  their  findings  to  the 
Church  at  home."  (Aim  and  Scope.) 


XVI. 

WORLD-WIDE  MISSIONS — A  BRIEF 
SURVEY. 

Since  Carey  landed  in  India  the  great  con- 
tinents of  Asia,  Africa,  and  South  America 
and  the  islands  of  the  sea  have  been  invaded 
by  an  army  of  heroic  missionaries  who  have 
gone  forth  proclaiming  Christ  Saviour  and 
King. 

At  first  they  faced  closed  doors  and  met  op- 
position, persecution,  and  martyrdom.  The 
missionary  call  in  the  early  days  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  a  call  to  heroic  sacrifice 
and  service.  Heroes  indeed  were  the  men  and 
women  who  responded.  The  miracles  of  mod- 
ern missions  attest  the  quality  of  their  faith 
and  work.  The  progress  to-day  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  in  every  land  witnesses  to  the 
power  of  our  risen  Lord  and  reaffirms  the 
blessedness  of  suffering  with  him  in  behalf  of 
a  lost  and  ruined  world.  The  missionary  call 
of  to-day  is  the  call  of  world-wide  oppor- 
tunity. 

A  brief  survey  of  a  few  of  the  great  mission 
(200) 


WORLD-WIDE    MISSIONS — A   BRIEF    SURVEY.        201 

fields  will  suggest  the  lines  upon  which  the 
kingdom  is  advancing  in  all  lands,  and  will 
indicate  in  part  the  results  of  the  modern  mis- 
sionary movement. 

China. 

Total  area,  4,277,170  square  miles;  popula- 
tion, 400,000,000. 

The  Chinese  are  a  people  with  a  history 
running  back  perhaps  forty-five  centuries, 
when  their  institutions,  their  language,  arts, 
government,  and  religion  had  begun  to  develop 
on  lines  from  which  no  departure  has  ever 
been  made. 

The  leading  religions  of  China  are  Con- 
fucianism, Taoism,  and  Buddhism.  Most  of 
the  people  practice  all  three  on  different  oc- 
casions and  for  different  purposes.  Confu- 
cianism is  really  a  great  system  of  ethics,  with 
many  elements  of  truth.  Taoism  has  become 
"blank  materialism,"  with  uneducated  and  ig- 
norant priests,  •  almost  universally  despised, 
but  regarded  as  indispensable  evils.  Bud- 
dhism owes  its  strength  to  the  defect  of  Con- 
fucianism in  not  teaching  a  future  existence 
and  retribution. 


202  MISSIONS. 

Protestant  missions  in  China  began  with 
liobert  Morrison  in  1807.  Four  forms  of  mis- 
sion work  have  become  well  established:  (1) 
Evangelistic,  (2)  literary,  (3)  educational, 
(4)  medical.  The  object  of  mission  work  is 
thus  tersely  stated  by  Bishop  Bashford:  "It 
is  carried  on  with  the  purpose  of  giving  every 
person  in  the  Chinese  Empire  a  knowledge  of 
the  gospel  as  speedily  as  possible,  of  leading 
men  and  women  to  a  personal  union  with 
Christ,  of  building  them  up  in  Christian  char- 
acter, and  of  creating  as  rapidly  as  possible 
a  self-supporting  native  Church."  Let  us 
add:  And  of  laying  the  gospel  of  Christ  at 
the  very  foundation  of  China's  new  life. 
Dr.  A.  H.  Smith,  after  thirty  years  in  China, 
summarizes  results  as  follows:  "Christian 
missions  have  brought  to  China  a  new  con- 
ception of  God,  a  Father  loving,  caring  for, 
and  teaching  his  children.  They  have  be- 
stowed upon  the  Chinese  a  new  idea  of  man 
as  by  creation  and  by  redemption  the  child  of 
God.  They  have  wrought  a  wonderful  spir- 
itual transformation  not  in  isolated  instances 
only,  but  upon  a  large  scale  and  with  lasting 
effects.  The  call  now  is  for  Spirit-filled, 
thoroughly  equipped  leaders.  In  addition, 


WORLD-WIDE  MISSIONS — A  BRIEF  SURVEY.      203 

Christianity  as  a  real  leavening  force  in  West- 
ern civilization  has  brought  about  the  wonder- 
ful changes  that  have  taken  place  and  are 
now  taking  place  in  the  material  life,  the  ed- 
ucational system,  the  government,  and  the  so- 
cial customs  of  the  Chinese." 

Statistics,  1901. — Ordained  missionaries, 
830;  unordained  missionaries,  744;  mission- 
aries' wives,  1,134 ;  other  missionary  women, 
1,061;  native  workers,  9,444;  stations,  789; 
out-stations,  3,920;  communicants,  191,985; 
adherents  not  communicants,  136,126;  con- 
tributions on  field,  Mexican  money,  $311,346; 
day  schools,  2,383;  pupils,  50,910;  higher  in- 
stitutions, 208 ;  students  in  same,  9,751 ;  Sun- 
day schools,  1,118;  Sunday  school  scholars, 
46,010;  industrial  schools,  11;  students,  594; 
foreign  men  physicians,  236;  foreign  women 
physicians,  104 ;  hospitals  or  dispensaries, 
461;  patients  during  one  year,  1,125,422. 
(Authority,  Smith.) 

Japan. 

Area,  162,000  square  miles ;  population,  46,- 
000,000. 

The  Japanese  are  a  remarkable  people,  in- 
tellectual, aesthetic,  vivacious,  patriotic.  Na- 


204  MISSIONS. 

tional  weaknesses  appear  as  a  natural  result 
of  the  defects  in  their  religious  and  social  sys- 
tems. 

The  religions  of  Japan  are  Shintoism,  Bud- 
dhism, and  Confucianism.  Shintoism,  or  an- 
cestor worship,  contains  many  degrading  su- 
perstitions which  have  in  a  large  measure 
been  abolished  by  the  entrance  of  Western 
learning.  Buddhism  is  marked  by  both  strong 
intellectuality  and  weak  ignorance.  Scholar- 
ly Buddhists  believe  in  no  Creator,  but  accept 
an  endless  evolution,  with  unerring  causes  and 
effects,  and  man  can  escape  from  the  wheel 
of  necessity  and  the  evils  of  existence  only  by 
being  absorbed  back  into  the  unconscious  en- 
ergy .that  pervades  all  things.  The  religion 
of  the  masses  is  a  superstitious  idolatry.  There 
is  much  corruption  among  the  priesthood, 
but  a  strong  reform  movement  has  set  in. 
The  methods  of  Christian  work  are  being 
studied  and  adopted  into  Buddhism,  and  they 
seek  for  the  secret  of  Christian  earnestness. 
Confucianism,  though  not  called  a  religion, 
has  much  to  do  with  molding  the  moral  life 
of  the  people. 

Japan  was  opened  to  the  world  by  Com- 
modore Perry  July  7,  1853.  The  missionary 


WORLD-WIDE   MISSIONS — A   BKIEF   SURVEY.        205 

entered  in  1859.  Since  that  time  a  marvelous 
transformation  has  been  wrought  in  the  coun- 
try, and  Japan  in  almost  every  line  of  en- 
deavor is  abreast  of  the  most  progressive  na- 
tions of  the  world.  The  missionary  was  fierce- 
ly resisted  until  1873;  1873-88  marked  a 
I>eriod  of  popularity  and  progress ;  1888-1000, 
a  period  of  reaction  ("a  morbid  nationalism, 
constantly  transforming  itself  into  the  hatred 
of  foreigners,  became  epidemic")  ;  1900-08,  a 
period  of  unprecedented  success  in  establish- 
ing Christian  influence  and  popularizing 
Christian  institutions. 

Evangelistic,  educational,  medical,  philan- 
thropic, and  literary  work  is  conducted  by 
the  missionaries.  "When  we  consider  that  the 
government  of  Japan,  the  laws,  the  courts, 
education,  and  the  family  are  being  formed 
on  Christian  principles  that  recognize  the 
worth  and  dignity  of  every  man,  woman,  and 
child,  that  the  worship  of  sun  and  moon 
has  virtually  ceased,  that  the  grosser  forms 
of  idolatry  have  been  abandoned,  that  the 
moral  teachings  of  Christ  have  become  a  part 
of  the  ethical  treasures  of  the  people,  that 
the  'friends  of  Christianity'  number  far  more 
than  its  professors,  that  Christian  thought 


206  MISSIONS. 

has  affected  the  old  religions  to  a  remarkable 
extent,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  in 
spite  of  the  evils  of  heathenism  that  remain, 
no  other  nation  has  ever  been  so  rapidly  per- 
meated with  Christian  knowledge  as  has 
Japan."  (I)e  Forest.) 

Statistics,  1901. — Missionaries,  men  and 
women,  883;  native  workers,  men  and  women, 
1,535;  stations  and  out-stations,  1,214; 
schools,  156;  pupils,  12,205;  hospitals  and 
dispensaries,  13;  publishing  houses  or  print- 
ing establishments,  5 ;  professing  Christians, 
65,036.  (Authority,  "The  Blue  Book.") 

India. 

Area,  1,766,597  square  miles.  Population, 
294,361,056. 

In  India  we  find  a  conglomerate  race,  many 
languages,  a  people  with  a  peculiar  genius 
for  degrading  religion. 

The  three  dominant  religions  are  Hinduism, 
with  207,104,026  adherents,  Mohammedan- 
ism, with  62,458,077,  and  Buddhism,  with  9,- 
476,759.  There  are  at  least  six  other  reli- 
gious faiths,  with  adherents  numbering  from 
18,000  to  more  than  8,000,000.  Perhaps  no- 


WORLD-WIDE    MISSIONS — A    BBIEF    SURVEY.         207 

where  on  earth  is  there  a  more  intensely  reli- 
gious people;  yet  it  is  equally  true  that  no- 
where can  there  be  found  more  degrading  su- 
perstitions or  corrupt  religious  practices  than 
in  India. 

William  Carey  was  the  pioneer  of  Protes- 
tant missions.  He  began  his  labors  in  India 
in  1792.  The  work  has  advanced  in  the  face 
of  almost  insuperable  difficulties.  Every  line 
of  usual  missionary  effort  has  been  estab- 
lished, with  great  emphasis  upon  Christian  ed- 
ucation. The  results  have  been  most  gratify- 
ing. From  1891  to  1901  the  increase  of  Chris- 
tian population  was  four  times  as  rapid  as 
that  of  the  whole  population.  The  later  pe- 
riod has  been  marked  by  a  decided  deepening 
and  strengthening  of  Christian  influence  in 
the  nation. 

Statistics,  1907. — Missionaries,  men  and 
women,  3,850;  native  workers,  men  and  wom- 
en, 32,654;  stations  and  out-stations,  8,312; 
schools,  10,692 ;  pupils  under  instruction,  409,- 
339 ;  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  295 ;  publish- 
ing houses  or  printing  establishments,  12; 
professing  Christians,  1,152,847,  (Authority, 
"The  Blue  Book.") 


208  MISSIONS. 

The  Moslem  World. 

The  number  of  Mohammedans  is  about  225,- 
000,000—50,000,000  in  Africa,  170,000,000  in 
Asia,  and  5,000,000  in  Europe. 

Islam  is  a  religion  of  degradation.  Some 
of  its  evil  effects  are:  The  idea  of  a  God  in- 
consistent and  ignoble,  with  a  corrupt  proph- 
et and  leader;  low  moral  standards;  divorce- 
ment of  profession  and  practice;  sins  of  all 
kinds  winked  at  and  condoned,  justified  by 
the  example  of  the  prophet  Mohammed ;  wom- 
an degraded;  the  home  wanting;  belief  in  a 
hereafter  of  selfish  indulgence;  fatalism; 
stagnation ;  and  corruption. 

The  Moslem  world  is  the  neglected  mission 
field  of  the  world.  Kaymond  Lull,  the  first 
missionary  to  Moslems,  was  martyred  on  June 
30,  1.315.  There  was  then  a  lapse  of  five  cen- 
turies in  the  work  of  Christianity  for  the  fol- 
lowers of  Islam.  Henry  Martyn,  who  went 
to  India  in  1800,  was  the  first  modern  mission- 
ary to  Moslems.  Up  to  the  present  day  the 
story  of  missions  to  Moslems  is  the  story  of 
individual  consecration  and  heroic  sacrifice, 
rather  than  of  great  mass  movements  of. the 
Church. 

Startling  figures  are  presented  showing  the 


WORLD-WIDE   MISSIONS — A   BRIEF   SURVEY.        209 

vast  number  of  Moslems  to  whom  the  gospel 
has  never  come.  In  Africa  "the  situation  is 
as  if  the  United  States,  with  her  eighty-seven 
million  people,  had  one  missionary  in  Main? 
and  another  in  Texas,  and  no  gospel  in  be- 
tween." In  Asia  there  are  forty-five  million 
wholly  nnreached,  "a  challenge  to  faith  and 
in  some  cases  a  rebuke  for  the  neglect  of  the 
Church." 

In  India  almost  all  of  the  work  for  the  vast 
Mohammedan  population  is  indirect  and  cas- 
ual, though  there  have  been  some  encouraging 
results. 

Following  are  statistics  from  some  of  the 
wholly  Moslem  lands : 

Turkey. — Missionary  societies  at  work,  15 ; 
stations  and  out-stations,  569;  missionaries, 
404;  native  workers,  1,545;  schools,  700; 
scholars,  36.618;  hospitals,  25;  publishing 
houses,  3;  professed  Christians,  79,000;  com- 
municants, 21,000.  Much  of  this  work  is  done 
among  the  Jews  and  decadent  Oriental  Chris 
tians. 

Persia. — Societies,  4;  stations  and  out-sta- 
tions, 183;  missionaries,  100;  native  workers, 
280;  schools,  1S«;  scholars,  3,834;  hospitals 
and  dispensaries,  1(5;  printing  house,  1;  pro- 
14 


210  MISSIONS. 

fessed   Christians,   5,051 ;   communicants,   3,- 
000. 

In  Sumatra  and  Java  Christian  missions  to 
Moslems  have  been  attended  with  great  suc- 
cess. Large  numbers  have  been  won  to  Christ, 
as  many  as  20,000  in  Java  alone.  (Authority, 
Zwemer. ) 

Pagan  Africa. 

Area,  11,500,000  square  miles;  population, 
90,000,000  pagans,  50,000,000  Moslems,  9,000,- 
000  nominal  Christians,  including  all  white 
residents. 

The  pagan  African  is  nature's  spoiled  child. 
Human  life  is  cheap,  infanticide  common ; 
marriage,  a  virtual  slavery  for  the  woman,  is 
entered  into  early  in  life;  polygamy  is  the 
common  practice;  laziness  characterizes  the 
man,  and  in  the  simple  and  savage  life  woman 
is  the  burden  bearer.  Where  there  is  contact 
the  temptations  of  a  corrupt  civilization  are 
legion. 

Fetichism,  the  religion  of  pagan  Africa,  is 
a  religion  of  darkness.  Superstition,  belief  in 
a  multitude  of  evil  spirits,  malignant  gods, 
the  efficacy  of  every  sort  of  charm,  witchcraft, 
human  sacrifice,  cannibalism,  revolting  bru- 


WORLD-WIDE   MISSIONS A   BRIEF    SURVEY.        211 

tality,  nauseating  licentiousness  are  its  char- 
acteristics. There  are,  however,  faint  gleams 
of  truth;  the  idea  of  a  supreme  God  is  per- 
sistent. 

Christian  missions  in  Africa  began  with 
Kobert  Moffat  in  1817.  David  Livingstone 
went  to  Africa  in  1841.  His  heroic  life  and 
work  made  possible  the  illumination  of  the 
Dark  Continent.  There  are  obstacles  to  be 
overcome  in  mission  work  in  Africa.  Among 
them  are  polygamy,  domestic  slavery,  the  ex- 
istence of  six  hundred  languages  and  dialects, 
the  climate  with  its  prevalent  and  virulent 
malarial  fever,  unscrupulous  and  corrupt  Eu- 
ropeans, the  unsympathetic  policy  of  the  Eu- 
ropean governments,  the  liquor  traffic,  race 
prejudice,  Kornan  Catholic  opposition.  But 
among  the  allies  of  Christianity  may  be  men- 
tioned the  efforts  of  the  governments  of  Eu- 
rope toward  the  suppression  of  the  slave 
trade,  the  liquor  traffic,  pagan  brutalities,  do- 
mestic slavery  and  polygamy,  and  the  scien- 
tific investigation  of  the  problems  of  climate 
and  peculiar  diseases  and  the  tendency  toward 
greater  uniformity  of  languages  and  their  re- 
duction to  writing. 

Statistics. — Ordained    men,    1,172;    unor- 


212  MISSIONS. 

dained  men,  654  ;  missionaries'  wives,  787 ; 
missionary  women,  503 ;  native  workers,  16,- 
308 ;  stations  and  out-stations,  6,734 ;  com- 
municants, 281,011;  adherents,  613,248;  day 
schools,  3,573 ;  pupils,  202,748 ;  higher  institu- 
tions, 147;  students,  8,501;  men  and  women 
physicians,  81 ;  hospitals  or  dispensaries,  127 ; 
patients  treated  in  one  year,  225,862.  (Au- 
thority, Naylor.) 

South  America. 

Area,  7,000,000  square  miles.  Population, 
37,903,809. 

The  people  are  an  ignorant  or  thoughtless 
multitude,  following  blindly  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  fathers,  who  inherited  a  form  of  re- 
ligion without  its  power.  Their  religion  is 
Roman  Catholicism — formal  and  corrupt. 
Holiness  and  the  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God 
have  disappeared,  and  morality  and  religion 
do  not  often  coexist.  There  is,  however,  a 
tendency  to  freedom  of  religious  belief  due 
to  the  reaction  of  a  minority  against  the  an- 
cestral faith. 

More  than  twenty  North  American  socie- 
ties, eight  from  Great  Britain,  one  from  Con- 
tinental Europe,  and  other  international  so- 


WORLD-WIDE   MISSIONS — A   BBIEF   SURVEY.        213 

cieties  are  represented.  There  are  different 
situations  and  complications  in  the  various 
republics.  The  greatest  need  in  all,  however, 
is  the  Bible  and  education.  The  missionaries 
are  very  hopeful  as  to  Protestantism's  future 
in  South  America. 

Statistics. — Ordained  missionaries,  255; 
laymen,  190;  wives,  201;  other  women,  117; 
male  physicians,  6;  native  workers,  688;  sta- 
tions, 224 ;  out-stations,  271 ;  communicants, 
30,469;  adherents  not  communicants,  28,764; 
day  schools,  170;  pupils,  11,989;  higher  insti- 
tutions, 14;  students,  868;  patients  treated, 
6,100.  (Authority,  Beach.) 


XVI T. 

MISSIONS  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH,  SOUTH. 

The  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  authorized  and 
its  members  were  elected  at  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1840,  sending  out  its  first  mission- 
ary in  1848. 

The  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
was  authorized  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1878,  and  very  soon  thereafter  perfected  its 
organization  and  began  work. 

The  General  Board  has  administered  funds 
on  the  frontier  and  in  destitute  regions  of  the 
regular  work  since  1846,  and  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  progress  of  our  Church  in  the 
West. 

The  General  Conference  of  1906  authorized 
the  Home  Department  of  the  General  Board 
in  order  to  better  meet  the  complex  problems 
of  the  growing  city,  industrial  activity,  and 
immigration. 
(214) 


MISSIONS   OK   THE    M.   E.    CHURCH,    SOUTH.         215 

The  Woman's  Home  Mission  Board  was  au- 
thorized by  the  General  Conference  of  1886, 
and  has  done  an  excellent  work,  pioneering  in 
several  lines  of  needed  missionary  activity. 

China. 

Work  was  opened  in  Shanghai  by  Dr. 
Charles  Taylor  in  September,  1848.  He  was 
joined  by  Dr.  J.  Jenkins  in  1849.  These  were 
followed  by  W.  G.  E.  Cunnyngham  in  1852, 
J.  W.  Lambuth,  D.  C.  Kelley,  and  W.  Belton 
in  1854,  and  Young  J.  Allen  and  M.  L.  Wood 
in  I860.  On  account  of  the  Civil  War  in 
America  no  more  recruits  came  to  the  mission 
until  1875,  when  A.  P.  Parker  arrived  on  the 
field.  From  that  time  recruits  have  contin- 
ued to  come,  from  one  to  five  or  more  almost 
every  year.  The  mission  occupies  the  south- 
ern end  of  Kiangsu  and  the  northern  end  of 
Chekiang  Provinces,  one  of  the  most  densely 
populated  regions  in  China.  All  forms  of 
missionary  work  are  carried  on — evangelistic, 
educational,  medical,  literary,  woman's  work, 
etc. 

Evangelistic. — The  territory  occupied  is  di- 
vided into  three  presiding  elders'  districts: 
Shanghai,  Soochow,  and  Huchow.  In  some  of 


210  MISSIONS. 

the  established  Churches — Moore  Memorial, 
in -Shanghai,  for  instance — all  the  services  of 
the  Church  are  held  regularly.  Evangelistic 
services  are  conducted  also  in  the  various 
chapels  in  the  hospitals,  schools,  etc.,  and  a 
successful  Bible  woman's  work  is  conducted 
in  connection  with  the  representatives  of  the 
Woman's  Board.  The  number  of  accessions 
to  the  Church  last  year  was  307. 

Educational. — Great  emphasis  is  laid  by 
our  mission  on  Christian  education.  It  is  the 
aim  to  have  one  or  more  day  schools  connect- 
ed with  every  station  and  middle  schools  in 
all  the  prefectural  cities  leading  up  to  the 
higher  institutions — viz.,  Soochow  University, 
established  in  1899,  ranking  as  one  of  the  two 
greatest  educational  institutions  in  China ; 
the  Anglo-Chinese  College,  in  Shanghai,  for 
boys  and  young  men,  opened  in  1881;  McLain 
Training  School,  at  Sungkong,  opened  in 
1899. 

Eight  boarding  schools  are  conducted  by 
the  Woman's  Board  in  China:  McTyeire 
School  for  Girls  in  Shanghai,  the  Laura  Hay- 
good  Memorial  and  the  Davidson  Bible  School 
in  Soochow,  the  Susan  B.  Wilson  and  the 
Hayes-Willdns  Bible  Schools  in  Sungkong, 


MISSIONS   OK   THE    M.    E.    CHURCH,    SOUTH.         217 

the  Virginia  and  the  Memphis  Schools  in  Hu- 
chow,  and  a  medical  school  in  connection 
with  the  Soochow  Woman's  Hospital.  They 
have,  in  addition,  thirteen  day  schools,  with 
390  pupils  enrolled. 

Medical. — The  Soochow  Hospital,  built  in 
1883,  and  the  Soochow  Woman's  Hospital  to- 
gether treat  30,000  patients  a  year.  Medical 
work  has  also  been  carried  on  in  Huchow. 

Literary. — Dr.  Y.  J.  Allen  made  many  note- 
worthy contributions  to  Chinese  literature. 
Some  one  has  said  that  his  books  "have  hurled 
the  Chinese  gods  from  their  pedestals."  Oth- 
ers of  our  workers  have  done  valuable  work 
of  this  kind,  among  them  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Lambuth,  Dr.  A.  P.  Parker,  Rev.  George  R. 
Loehr,  Mrs.  Alice  S.  Parker,  Prof.  N.  Gist 
Gee,  and  Mrs.  R.  S.  Anderson. 

Statistics.* — Missionaries,  70;  native  work- 
ers, 195 ;  organized  Churches,  27 ;  self-support- 
ing Churches,  8 ;  Church  members,  2,190 ;  Sun- 
day schools,  53;  Sunday  school  scholars,  2,- 
573;  Epworth  Leagues,  32;  Epworth  League 
members,  892;  boarding  schools,  12;  pupils, 

*Figures  include  wives  of  missionaries  and  work 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 


218  MISSIONS. 

953 ;  day  schools,  22 ;  pupils,  683 ;  hospitals  or 
dispensaries,  2;  patients  treated,  32,069;  to- 
tal value  of  mission  property,  $367,425.  (Au- 
thority, "A  Century  of  Missions  in  China" 
and  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Missions, 
1908.) 

Japan. 

We  began  work  in  Japan  in  1886.  The 
progress  has  been  steady.  In  May,  1907,  the 
Methodist  Church  of  Japan  was  formed  by 
the  union  in  one  body  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  the  Methodist  Episcopal, 
and  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada.  This 
united  Church  begins  with  more  than  11,000 
members  and  100  Japanese  preachers  under 
the  leadership  of  Bishop  Y.  Honda,  who  was 
their  own  almost  unanimous  choice  for  bish 
op.  The  educational  work  and  much  of  the 
evangelistic  field  continue  under  the  foster- 
ing care  of  our  missionaries,  who  will  remain 
in  an  advisory  and  cooperative  relation  with 
the  leaders  of  the  new  Church  while  their 
Conference  membership  is  with  the  home  Con- 
ferences. There  is  every  prospect  of  widened 
influence  and  of  a  great  future  before  the 
Methodist  Church  of  Japan,  which  has  been 


MISSIONS   OF   THE   M.   E.   CHUBCH,   SOUTH.        210 

launched  under  the  most  auspicious  circum- 
stances. 

Evangelistic. — Our  mission  is  divided  into 
three  districts:  Kobe,  Hiroshima,  and  Mat- 
suyama.  The  results  of  the  evangelistic  work 
show  an  increase  in  membership  for  the  past 
year  of  307,  and  "everywhere  the  general  state 
of  the  Church  is  good.  Church  activity  indi- 
cates a  healthy  growth  spiritually  and  finan- 
cially, and  harmony  and  peace  prevail  in  all 
the  Churches  and  among  the  workers." 

Educational. — Kwansei  Gakuin  was  estab- 
lished at  Kobe  in  1889.  It  comprises  a  Bib- 
lical Department,  which  gives  full  theological 
training  to  native  preachers,  and  an  Academ- 
ic and  College  Department,  with  a  total  en- 
rollment of  228. 

Palmore  Institute,  at  Kobe,  had  last  year  a 
total  enrollment  of  500. 

The  Lambuth  Memorial  Bible  School  for 
Christian  women  workers  had  15  students  en- 
rolled, and  has  done  much  good  work  of  a 
missionary  character  among  the  people  of 
Kobe. 

The  Hiroshima  Girls'  School,  established  in 
1889,  with  its  enrollment  of  over  700  in  the 
Academic  Department  and  225  in  the  Kinder- 


220  MISSIONS. 

garten   Department,,  is  doing  a  magnificent 
work. 

Statistics. — Missionaries  (including  their 
wives),  36;  native  traveling  preachers,  14;  lo- 
cal preachers,  24;  members,  1,776  (increase, 
203);  Sunday  schools,  62;  scholars,  5,401; 
Epworth  Leagues,  14;  members,  379;  organ- 
ized Churches,  22;  Churches  self-supporting, 
3;  boarding  schools,  3;  pupils,  1,278;  day 
schools,  7;  pupils,  534;  total  collections  on 
the  field,  f 3,927.34;  total  value  of  mission 
property,  $103,767.50.  (Authority,  Annual 
Report. ) 

Korea. 

The  mission  was  opened  in  1895  by  Bishop 
Hendrix  and  Dr.  C.  F.  Reid  at  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  Yun  family.  Mr.  T.  H.  Yun,  an 
active  member  of  the  Church,  while  occupy- 
ing important  official  positions,  has  now  con- 
sented to  devote  his  entire  time  to  our  edu- 
cational work,  and  has  charge  of  the  school  at 
Songdo.  The  setting  apart  of  Korea  as  a  sep- 
arate mission  was  consummated  at  the  last 
session  of  the  China  Mission  Conference,  of 
which  it  has  heretofore  been  a  part. 

Evangelistic. — The  mission   comprises  one 


MISSIONS   OF   THE   M.   E.    CHURCH,    SOUTH.        221 

presiding  elder's  district.  The  evangelistic 
work  is  carried  on  by  the  native  Christians, 
and  uin  every  section  there  are  villages  and 
hamlets  where  little  groups  of  inquirers  are 
gathered,  earnestly  seeking  the  light."  The 
field  is  "white  unto  the  harvest/'  and  "with 
an  adequate  number  of  workers  our  mission- 
aries believe  that  in  ten  years  they  can  evan- 
gelize the  part  of  the  country  allotted  to  us." 

Educational. — The  Anglo-Korean  School 
was  opened  in  1906  at  Songdo,  with  T.  H.  Yun 
as  President.  The  total  enrollment  for  the 
last  term  was  118.  It  is  being  made  a  strong 
force  in  the  general  education  of  the  people 
as  well  as  in  the  specific  instruction  of  the 
students.  Our  mission  has  also  a  share  in  the 
Union  School  for  boys  in  Seoul,  which  is  do- 
ing good  work.  A  Biblical  Institute  for  the 
training  of  native  preachers  and  workers  has 
been  projected. 

The  Woman's  Board  has  four  boarding 
schools — Tallulah  Hargrove  and  the  Girls' 
Boarding  School  in  Songdo,  Lucy  Cuninggim 
Boarding  School  in  Wonsan,  and  the  Caro- 
lina Institute  in  Seoul — with  a  total  enroll- 
ment of  90.  They  have  also  150  pupils  in  their 
five  day  schools. 


222  MISSIONS. 

Medical. — Work  is  carried  on  in  Wonsan, 
where  are  located  two  dispensaries  treating 
3,000  or  more  patients  annually,  and  in  Song- 
do,  where  between  500  and  1,000  patients  are 
treated  through  the  dispensary  located  there. 

Statistics.* — Missionaries,  34  ;  native  work- 
ers, 48 ;  organized  Churches,  181 ;  self-support- 
ing Churches,  89;  Church  members,  1,988; 
Sunday  schools,  33;  Sunday  school  scholars, 
1,770;  boarding  schools,  6;  pupils,  346;  day 
schools,  8 ;  pupils,  232 ;  hospitals  or  dispensa- 
ries, 3 ;  patients  treated,  1,852 ;  total  value  of 
mission  property,  f 69,000.  (Authority,  An- 
nual Keport,  1908.) 


Work  was  begun  in  Brazil  in  1874.  The 
field  has  been  divided  into  two  Conferences 
of  six  districts  in  all. 

Evangelistic. — "Access  to  the  masses  of  the 
people  with  the  gospel  message  is  all  the  time 
becoming  easier,  and  there  is  a  growing  desire 
upon  the  part  of  an  increasing  number  to 
hear  the  word  of  life.  The  Church  in  Brazil 

*Figures  include  wives  of  missionaries  and  work 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 


MISSIONS   OF   THE    M.    E.    CHURCH,    SOUTH.       223 

shows  a  disposition  to  meet  this  increasing 
opportunity.  The  statistics  indicate  a  healthy 
condition  and  encouraging  growth."  There 
was  a  gain  in  membership  during  the  past 
year  of  307. 

Educational. — Granbery  College,  at  Juiz  de 
Fora,  with  an  enrollment  of  291,  has  a  prop- 
erty valued  at  $93,000.  The  college  has  aca- 
demic, theological,  pharmacy,  and  dental  de- 
partments. It  has  gained  a  reputation  for 
faithful  and  honest  work  and  wields  a  great 
power  for  good. 

The  Woman's  Board  conducts  the  Colegio 
Americano  in  Petropolis,  Mineiro  College 
in  Juiz  de  Fora,  Isabella  Hendrix  Institute  in 
Bello  Horizonte,  and  other  boarding  schools 
in  Piracicaba,  Ribeirao  Preto,  and  Porto 
Alegre.  The  enrollment  in  their  boarding 
schools  is  130,  and  in  the  day  schools  630. 

Medical. — Considerable  work  is  done  in 
connection  with  the  Central  Mission,  in  Rio 
de  Janeiro.  Several  hundred  patients  are 
treated  annually  through  the  dispensary. 

Statistics.* — Missionaries,  55 ;  native  work- 

*Figures  include  wives  of  missionaries  and  work 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 


224  MISSIONS. 

ers,  91;  organized  Churches,  44;  self-support- 
ing Churches,  5 ;  Church  members,  5,368 ;  Sun- 
day schools,  73;  Sunday  school  scholars,  2,- 
884;  Epworth  Leagues,  43;  Epworth  League 
members,  1,830;  boarding  schools,  7;  pupils, 
421 ;  day  schools,  6 ;  pupils,  631 ;  total  value 
of  missionary  property,  $409,990.  (Authori- 
ty, Annual  Eeport,  1908.) 

Mexico. 

Our  work  in  Mexico  was  begun  in  1873. 
The  mission  comprises  three  Conferences  of 
seven  presiding  elders'  districts  in  all.  Evan- 
gelistic, educational,  medical,  and  literary 
work  is  carried  on. 

Evangelistic. — One  of  the  most  encouraging 
facts  about  our  work  in  this  field  is  the  grow- 
ing revival  spirit.  Until  recent  years  revivals 
were  rare.  Now  they  are  becoming  common. 
The  missionaries  report  a  growing  interest  in 
such  work.  The  native  preachers  are  becom- 
ing imbued  more  than  ever  with  the  revival 
spirit.  There  were  410  accessions  to  our 
Church  in  Mexico  last  year. 

Educational. — Colegio  Wesleyano,  a  train- 


MISSIONS   OF   THE   M.   E.   CHURCH,    SOUTH.       225 

ing  school   at   San    Luis   Potosi    for   native 
preachers,  had  19  students  last  year. 

Laurens  Institute,  at  Monterey,  had  a  total 
enrollment  last  year  of  446,  a  faculty  of  15 
teachers,  and  a  property  worth  about  $85,000. 
"Such  an  institution  must  touch  in  a  very 
vital  manner  the  youth  of  Mexico  and  do 
much  toward  shaping  the  destiny  of  this  na- 
tion." 

The  boarding  schools  of  the  Woman's 
Board  are :  Laredo  Seminary  in  Laredo,  Cole- 
gio  Ingles  in  Saltillo,  boarding  school  in  San 
Luis  Potosi,  Mary  Keener  Institute  in  the 
City  of  Mexico,  Institute  Colon  in  Guadala- 
jara, MacDonell  Institute  in  Durango,  and 
Palmore  College  in  Chihuahua.  The  total  en- 
rollment in  these  schools  and  in  their  day 
schools  is  2,300. 

Medical. — Hospital  Monterey,  where  nearly 
30,000  patients  were  treated  last  year,  of 
whom  the  great  majority  were  charity  pa- 
tients, "is  doing  a  world  of  good." 

Literary. — Translations  of  Professor  Kod- 
riguez:  Spanish  hymn  book,  Sunday  school 
literature,  "The  Life  of  Wesley,"  "The  Chil- 
dren's Crusade,"  Sheldon's  "System  of  Chris- 
tian Doctrine,"  and  others, 
15 


226  MISSIONS. 

Statistics.* — Missionaries,  56 ;  native  work- 
ers, 223;  organized  Churches,  108;  self-sup- 
porting Churches,  3 ;  Church  members,  6,815 ; 
Sunday  schools,  136 ;  Sunday  school  scholars, 
5,157 ;  Epworth  Leagues,  37 ;  Epworth  League 
members,  1,377;  boarding  schools,  9;  pupils, 
1,766;  day  schools,  10;  pupils,  1,060;  hos- 
pital or  dispensary,  1;  patients  treated,  29,- 
653;  total  value  of  mission  property,  |508,- 
557.  (Authority,  Annual  Keport,  1908.) 

Cuba. 

The  regular  mission  was  established  in 
Cuba  in  1898. 

Evangelistic. — The  Conference  held  in  Cuba 
last  January  was  said  to  be  "the  most  satis- 
factory, the  most  hopeful  and  harmonious  we 
have  yet  had  in  the  island."  That  is  saying 
a  good  deal ;  but  it  is  justified  by  the  improve- 
ment in  the  number,  quality,  and  better  train- 
ing of  the  native  ministry,  by  the  evidences 
that  the  work  is  solidifying  and  assuming 
organic  form,  by  a  more  competent  Church 
officiary  and  more  orderly  methods  in  Church 

*Figures  include  wives  of  missionaries  and  work 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 


MISSIONS   OF   THE    M.    E.    CHURCH,    SOUTH.       227 

affairs,  by  the  steady  advance  toward  self- 
support  evident  in  all  directions,  and  by  the 
general  accessibility  of  the  people  to  the  word 
of  life.  The  increase  in  membership  for  1908 
was  482,  a  net  gain  of  almost  twenty  per  cent. 

Educational. — Four  colleges  are  conducted 
with  19  teachers  and  a  total  enrollment  of 
345,  and  three  day  schools  with  an  enrollment 
of  45. 

The  Woman's  Board  has  two  boarding 
schools — Colegio  Eliza  Bowman,  in  Cienfue- 
gos,  and  the  Irene  Toland  School,  in  Matan- 
zas — with  an  enrollment  of  322. 

Statistics.* — Missionaries,  30 ;  native  work- 
ers, 44 ;  organized  Churches,  37 ;  Church  mem- 
bers, 2,847;  Sunday  schools,  44;  Sunday 
school  scholars,  2,847;  Epworth  Leagues,  17; 
Epworth  League  members,  675;  boarding 
schools,  6 ;  pupils,  667 ;  day  schools,  3 ;  pupils, 
45 ;  total  value  of  mission  property,  $232,223.- 
71. 

Summary. — Missionaries,  281 ;  native  work- 
ers, 639;  organized  Churches,  421;  self-sup- 
porting Churches,  108;  Church  members,  20,- 

*Figures  include  wives  of  missionaries  and  work 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 


228  MISSIONS. 

984;  Sunday  schools,  401;  Sunday  school 
scholars,  20,632;  Epworth  Leagues,  143;  Ep- 
worth  League  members,  5,153;  boarding 
schools,  43;  pupils,  5,431;  day  schools,  56; 
pupils,  3,185;  hospitals  or  dispensaries,  6; 
patients  treated,  63,574;  total  value  of  mis- 
sion property,  $1,690,963.21. 

Collections. — For  foreign  missions,  $540,- 
523.54;  for  home  missions,  $268,080;  for 
Church  Extension,  $133,617;  for  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  $226,192.88;  for 
Woman's  Home  Mission  Society,  $442,861.- 
59.  Total,  $1,611,275.01.  (Authority,  Annu- 
al Keport,  1908.) 


XVI 1 1. 
MISSIONS  IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

Why  should  we  emphasize  mission  study  in 
the  Sunday  school? 

In  systematic  and  thorough  missionary  ed- 
ucation lies  the  foundation  of  the  future  mis- 
sionary progress  and  success  of  the  Church. 
If  ever  the  Church  is  made  ready  for  her  ever- 
enlarging  opportunity  to  take  the  world  for 
Christ,  a  generation  must  be  educated  in  the 
gospel  and  history  of  missions.  Education 
implies  the  teacher,  the  text-book,  the  pupil, 
the  class  hour,  etc.  These  are  found  in  the 
Sunday  school;  and  as  an  organized  depart- 
ment of  the  Church  the  Sunday  school  is  in 
shape  to  do  this  work  without  additional  ma- 
chinery or  organization.  The  Sunday  school 
takes  the  pupil  in  the  formative  period,  and 
can  through  proper  instruction  train  him  to 
missionary  faith  and  obedience.  The  Sunday 
school,  therefore,  has  the  making  of  the  mis- 
sionary conscience  and  character  of  the 
Church  of  the  future. 

(228) 


230  MISSIONS. 

How  shall  we  introduce  the  theme  of  mis- 
sions into  the  Sunday  school? 

1.  By  the  selection  of  a  Missionary  Com- 
mittee. 

The  committee  should  consist  of  from  three 
to  five  members,  representing  the  different 
grades  of  the  school,  and  should  be  represent- 
ed by  one  of  its  members  on  the  Missionary 
Committee  of  the  Church.  The  pastor  and 
superintendent  of  the  school  should  be  mem- 
bers ex  officio.  The  missionary  superintend- 
ent or  chairman,  with  the  committee,  should 
have  general  charge  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
missionary  life  of  the  Sunday  school,  espe- 
cially through  the  use  of  the  missionary  poli- 
cy for  the  Sunday  school  provided  by  our 
Church,  or  such  parts  thereof  as  may  be 
adapted  to  the  local  school.  Each  member  of 
the  committee  should  have  some  definite  work 
to  do,  such  as  being  responsible  for  one  or 
more  of  the  points  of  this  policy. 

2.  By  the  making  of  a  missionary  atmos- 
phere. 

This  can  be  done  (1)  by  the  introduction 
of  missions  in  the  worship  of  the  Sunday 
school.  This  is  effected  by  the  occasional 
reading  from  the  Scriptures  of  a  missionary 


MISSIONS   IN   THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOL.  231 

lesson,  the  frequent  mention  of  missions  and 
the  missionaries  in  prayer,  and  the  selection 
of  missionary  songs.  It  is  not  well  to  call 
special  attention  to  the  fact 'that  they  are  mis- 
sionary in  sentiment,  but  just  use  them  as 
other  lessons  and  as  the  other  songs  are  used, 
and  the  silent,  educative  influence  will  surely 
be  felt. 

(2)  By  a  monthly  missionary  programme 
so  arranged  and  rendered  as  to  be  interesting 
and    instructive.     This    programme    can    be 
made  strong  and  effective  without  interfering 
with  the  regular  lesson  period.    Materials  are 
abundant,   and   suggestive   programmes   can 
easily  be  had.    Prayer  and  faithful  work  on 
the  part  of  the  committee  can  make  this  one 
of  the  most  delightful  features  of  the  Sunday 
school    work.     A    separate   missionary   pro- 
gramme for  the  Primary  Department  is  sug- 
gested whenever  expedient. 

(3)  By  the  use  of  pictures,   charts,   and 
maps  hung  on  the  wall  and  occasionally  re- 
ferred to,  with  an  application  of  the  lessons 
they  suggest. 

(4)  By  the  occasional  introduction  of  mis- 
sionary curios,  with  brief  explanation  of  their 
use,  etc.,  or  by  the  reading  of  a  letter  from 


232i  MISSIONS. 

some  missionary  in  whom  the  pupils  are  es- 
pecially interested,  or  by  reference  to  a  bul- 
letin board  containing  fresh  missionary  facts 
and  news  items. 

3.  By  the  study  of  the  Bible  as  a  missionary 
book. 

Provision  for  this  will  be  made  each  year 
through  the  missionary  interpretation  of  all 
the  lessons  of  the  International  Series,  which 
are  clearly  susceptible  of  missionary  treat- 
ment. Besides  this,  our  Church  offers  in  the 
regular  Sunday  school  literature  a  distinctly 
missionary  lesson  at  the  end  of  each  quarter 
as  a  substitute  for  the  review. 

Supplemental  Bible  study  in  missions  can  be 
made  very  profitable,  and  may  be  carried  on 
in  various  ways  that  will  suggest  themselves 
to  the  resourceful  teacher. 

4.  By  a,  supplemental  course  in  missionary 
biography  and  history. 

The  Bible  furnishes  the  principles,  but  it  is 
not  enough  to  teach  only  what  the  Bible  con- 
tains on  this  subject.  In  a  very  real  sense  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  must  be  read  in  the  light 
of  the  deeds  of  modern  apostles ;  and  even  our 
Lord's  life  and  great  missionary  purpose  can 
be  better  understood  and  will  have  more 


Itf   THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOL.  233 

meaning  to  the  child  if  Jesus  is  conceived  as 
actually  carrying  out  that  purpose  in  the 
world  to-day;  and  still  more  so  if  there  is  fur- 
nished evidence  that  Jesus,  according  to  his 
promise,  is  still  present  with  those  who  are 
going  among  all  nations  to  carry  the  truth 
concerning  him.  The  simple,  beautiful  sto- 
ries of  real  men  and  women  who  grew  up  in 
Sunday  school,  perhaps,  and  who  are  to-day 
carrying  the  truth  of  Christ  to  the  Christless ; 
their  self-sacrifice  and  loving  devotion  to  the 
people  they  are  trying  to  save ;  the  actual  ex- 
periences of  missionaries  in  dealing  with  the 
natives;  stories  about  the  native  Christians, 
their  peculiarities,  their  conversion  and  trans- 
formation, and  their  truly  Christian  fidelity 
— all  these  things  wrill  lend  a  reality  and  a 
vividness  to  missions  that  no  amount  of  dis- 
cussion of  the  abstract  conditions  and  obliga- 
tions can  produce.  Excellent  materials  for 
such  studies  are  now  available. 

5.  By  a  Course  of  Mission  Study  for  Teach- 
ers. 

This  is  provided  for  in  the  Teacher-Train- 
ing Course.  The  trained  missionary  teacher 
could  solve  the  problem  of  missionary  educa- 
tion. A  more  extended  study  of  missions 


234  MISSIONS. 

than  is  provided  for  in  this  course  is  desirable. 
What,  then,  can  be  done  to  further  help  the 
teachers  in  this  work?  Is  it  practicable  for 
the  Sunday  school  teacher  to  take  a  wider 
course  of  study  in  missions?  "The  teachers 
already  have  their  hands  full  with  their  reg- 
ular Sunday  class  work  and  with  their  teach- 
ers' Study  Circle  Course."  That  is  true;  but 
this  circle  course  is  regularly  completed  in 
ten  months.  Why  should  not  the  circle  then 
take  up  a  course  in  mission  study?  Excellent 
courses  are  available  through  the  Education- 
al Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  If 
there  is  no  Study  Circle  in  the  Sunday  school, 
the  teacher  can  have  access  to  the  Corre- 
spondence School  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  which  offers  an  excellent 
course  of  training  in  the  mission  study  text- 
books selected  by  our  Church. 

6.  By  putting  missionary  books  in  the  Sun- 
day school  library. 

Every  Sunday  school  ought  to  have  a  good 
missionary  library,  even  though  a  small  one. 
The  children  should  have  the  best  and  most 
interesting  missionary  books  placed  in  their 
hands. 

"The  1905  Sunday  School  Missionary  Li- 


MISSIONS   IN   THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOL. 

brary,"  selected  by  Drs.  H.  M.  Hamill  and  W. 
R.  Lambuth,  is  especially  recommended.  It 
is  in  two  sections,  Section  A  and  Section  B. 
The  books  of  the  first  are  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  boys  and  girls,  and  the  second  section  is 
made  up  of  such  books  as  teachers  and  older 
scholars  will  need.  Either  of  these  sections 
is  sent  postpaid  for  $5,  or  both  for  $10.  The 
missionary  section  of  the  Sunday  School  Li- 
brary should  include  missionary  magazines 
and  leaflet  literature,  etc. 

The  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 
has  recently  published  a  set  of  ten  volumes  of 
splendid  stories,  strong  in  missionary  interest 
and  influence.  These  books  are  so  full  of 
thrilling  adventure  and  stirring  fact  as  to 
catch  and  hold  the  youthful  reader  and  at  the 
same  time  to  draw  him  close  to  the  Master  in 
his  loving  purpose  to  save  the  world.  This 
set  and  other  missionary  books  should  be  in 
every  Sunday  school  library.  The  price  of 
the  set  ($5)  places  it  in  the  reach  of  all. 

7.  By  asking  for  a  monthly  missionary  of- 
fering. 

In  this  care  must  be  exercised  to  give  full 
information  as  to  where  the  money  goes  and 
how  it  is  spent.  A  share  in  the  support  of  a 


236  MISSIONS. 

mission  station  or  school,  with  an  occasional 
report  from  the  missionary  in  charge,  deepens 
interest  and  is  wonderfully  educative  in  mis- 
sionary faith  and  liberality.  Because  mis- 
sionary giving  belongs  indispensably  to  mis 
sionary  education,  and  because  more  Sunday 
schools  probably  observe  this  than  any  other 
missionary  educational  feature,  there  may  be 
danger  of  mistaking  a  means  for  an  end.  The 
purpose  of  missionary  education  in  the  Sun- 
day school  is  not  to  raise  money,  but  the  pur- 
pose in  raising  money  is  primarily  to  serve 
as  one  of  the  educational  means  in  the  rear- 
ing of  a  missionary  Church. 

8.  By  frequent  use  of  missionary  history, 
'biography,  incidents,  and  news  in  illustrating 
Bible  lessons. 

No  field  of  illustration  is  so  rich  and  none 
more  accessible  to  the  teacher.  Faith,  love, 
sacrifice,  and  heroic  obedience  find  their 
highest  exemplification  in  the  splendid  lives 
and  noble  service  of  the  missionary. 

9.  By  a  plan  for  the  promotion  of  definite 
and  intelligent  intercessory  prayer. 

Leading  the  pupils  into  the  habit  of  defi- 
nite prayer  for  missionaries  and  missionary 
objects  will  deepen  their  spiritual  life  and 


MISSIONS   IN   THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOL.  237 

wonderfully  quicken  the  missionary  interest. 
Prayer  cards,  calendars,  and  prayer  lists  may 
be  used  with  profit. 

(Materials  for  use  in  the  plans  suggested 
in  this  chapter  can  be  secured  from  the  Edu- 
cational Department,  Board  of  Missions,  M. 
E.  Church,  South,  Nashville,  Tenn.) 


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THE  REVISED  CIRCLE  COURSES. 


The  books  are  named  in  the  order  in  which  students 
are  urged  to  study  them,  though  this  order  is  advisory 
and  not  compulsory.  Order  of  Smith  &  Lamar,  Agents, 
Publishing  House,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  Dallas,  Tex. 
The  School,  if  it  can  possibly  afford  it,  should  in  part 
or  whole  pay  the  cost,  especially  for  the  Circle  class  of 
young  people  in  training  to  teach,  except  as  any  prefer 
to  own  and  can  pay  for  the  books. 

THE  FIRST    COURSE. 

The  "Legion  of  Honor  Teacher-Training  Lessons."  In 
one  volume,  Revised  Edition  of  1908,  Parts  1  and  2.  In 
manilla  binding,  25  cents.  In  cloth,  40  cents,  postpaid. 

ADVANCED  COURSE. 

1.  "The  Sunday  School  Teacher."      (Same  as  hereto- 
fore. ) 

2.  "The  Bible  and  Its   Books."      (Same  as  heretofore, 
with  slight  revision  in  form  only.) 

3.  "Manual    of    Southern    Methodism,"    containing    the 
"Doctrine  and    Polity"   of   former   Circle   book,   but   now 
enlarged  by  addition  of  Church  History  and  Missions. 

4.  "The  Organized  Sunday  School."     (Same  as  hereto- 
fore, with  some  revision.) 

5.  "The    Sunday    School    Pupil."       (Additional    to    the 
old  Circle  Course.) 

The  five  books  of  the  Advanced  Course,  in  cloth  only, 
at  $1.70  per  set,  postpaid.  Orders  for  individual  books 
filled  at  40  cents  each,  postpaid. 

SPECIAL  INFORMATION. 

Revised  Circle  Leaflet. — This  revised  leaflet  will  be 
sent  to  all  Sunday  school  superintendents,  pastors,  or 
teachers  applying  to  Dr.  Hamill  for  it. 

Students  of  the  Old  Course. — Students  now  at  work 
upon  the  three  appointed  books  of  the  old  Circle  Course 
will  not  be  disturbed  or  in  any  way  discredited  by  the 
revised  plan,  but  will  receive  full  credit  for  work  now 
being  done.  But  if  in  addition  to  these  three  books  they 
shall  complete  the  two  other  books  of  the  "Advanced 
Course" — "The  Organized  Sunday  School"  and  "The  Sun- 
day School  Pupil" — they  will  be  awarded  the  "Advanced 
Course  Diploma"  with  the  International  Seal. 


(240) 


F 
£ 

A 


.  • 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


